Given alarmist racialized portrayals of so-called ‘climate migrants’ as an invasive threat from the Global South to Global North this paper examines how visual methods can challenge western production of knowledge around the climate crisis.
We draw on Mimi Sheller’s concept of ‘mobility justice’ (2018) which reflects the interconnecting strands that emerge from the interdisciplinary research project ClimateOfChange on which the paper is based: the right to mobility, the right to live in a healthy environment, and the unequal access to such rights across the globe. Empirical data is drawn from a one-month climate diary capturing visual perceptions of climate change.
This methodological innovation aims to capture the intersectionality of lived experiences and understandings of the climate crisis and its causes, mitigation strategies, as well the complex nexus with (im)mobility. This paper highlights the diverse impact of mobility (in)justice upon climate vulnerable people. By drawing out knowledge of people directly affected by the climate crisis and their perceptions of the impacts of the climate crisis as well as their own (im)mobility, we aim to challenge Eurocentric formulations of ‘climate migration’ to enhance a more politicised understanding of this complex issue.
Link to the essay
