What Privilege Means in the Climate Crisis Fight

No longer insulated from the climate crisis, the Global North has the power to lead the charge against the pollution it has long enabled. Ms. Rackete is an ecologist and activist. The climate crisis has been building for decades, but only since the mid-2000s has it truly come to the attention of the richer countries that comprise the Global North. Wildfires from California to Greece and flash floods from New York City to Germany have opened peoples eyes to the fact that this global crisis is real and it is in danger of if something isnt done to stop it. This past summer, the worlds climate scientists published the latest report, highlighting, once again, the need to act now. But rather than finding conviction in the many public reactions to these dire warnings, I instead sense a feeling of helplessness. Many in the Global North seem unable or unwilling to connect our growth-based, consumption-driven economy with the intensifying natural disasters around us. We live in countries that burned through their share of the worlds CO2 budget long ago if we account for the historic emissions released since 1850. But the effects of that overspending have mostly ravaged the faraway countries that we dont see, whose citizens face far greater risks to their personal safety when they speak out against this injustice. I believe that those of us who can act have a responsibility to do so. Embracing activism to combat polluters who hurt the whole world is a way to begin to repay our debt. Indeed, that ability to organize and protest safely is, to me, one of the most powerful symptoms of our privilege. And in my experience, exercising that privilege is the most effective way to help move the entire world toward a safer, more just future for all life on this planet. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and your Times account, or for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? . Want all of The Times? .