ABSTRACT

This book will inspire and spark grassroots action to address the inequitable impacts of climate change, by showing how this can be tackled and the many benefits of doing so.

With contributions from climate activists and engaged young authors, this volume explores the many ways in which people are proactively working to advance climate justice. The book pays special attention to Canada and the Great Lakes watershed, showing how the effects of climate change span local, regional, and global scales through the impact of extreme weather events such as floods and droughts, with related economic and social effects that cross political jurisdictions. Examining examples of local-level activism that include organizing for climate-resilient and equitable communities, the dynamic leadership of Indigenous peoples (especially women) for water and land protection, and diaspora networking, Local Activism for Global Climate Justice also provides theoretical perspectives on how individual action relates to broader social and political processes.

Showcasing a diverse range of inspirational and thought-provoking case studies, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of climate justice, climate change policy, climate ethics, and global environmental governance, as well as teachers and climate activists.

chapter 1|12 pages

Introduction

Climate justice, the Great Lakes, and the Earth

part I|2 pages

Fairness in public policies

chapter 2|21 pages

Carbon cuts, not job cuts

Toward a Just Transition in Canada

chapter 6|10 pages

The right to remain

Community-led responses to land dispossession in the context of global and local climate injustice

chapter 9|10 pages

Out of credit

Climate finance in the face of climate debt

part II|2 pages

Personal action and local activism

chapter 10|10 pages

The fossil fuel divestment movement

A view from Toronto

chapter 11|14 pages

I eat, therefore I’m evil

The dilemmas of applying climate justice to food choice

chapter 12|13 pages

Free food for justice

chapter 15|7 pages

After the flood

Coming together for Toronto

part III|2 pages

Education, consciousness-raising, and collective visions

chapter 17|11 pages

The Great Lakes Commons

Working with water and adapting our movement to the Great Lakes

chapter 19|12 pages

Reconciliation in the watershed

Strengthening relationships for climate justice

chapter 20|12 pages

Climate Justice Montreal

Who we are and what we do

chapter 21|12 pages

Listen, the youth are speaking

The Youth and Climate Justice Initiative of Western New York

chapter 23|10 pages

Photographs, performance, and protest

The fight for climate justice through art

chapter 24|2 pages

Conclusion

Moving ahead for climate justice