“I said the other day that able-bodied people lack the imagination to think inclusively. So we have to challenge ourselves to be more creative with our sustainability solutions” (Wright, 2020)

As I move throughout my education in climate action leadership, I am continuously reminded of the responsibility those within climate adaptation spaces have to approach solutions with an equity framework. In my own community there is impressive climate adaptation planning underway, which is reflected in Toronto’s First Resilience Strategy. The report calls for “preparing our most vulnerable residents” for the effects of climate change, adapting in ways that put the “most vulnerable members of our society first, because they are usually affected the most by both shocks and stresses”, confronting “our uncomfortable histories” and “promoting prosperity through new relationships with neighbourhoods and residents that often find themselves outside of the decision-making process” (City of Toronto, 2019, p.21). The report also calls for this link between resilience and equity to be realized by including “equity seeking and other vulnerable groups in decision making” and by continuously asking ”‘who is missing from the room?’” (City of Toronto, 2019, p. 24).

Within Catherine Jampel’s article “Intersections of disability justice, racial justice and environmental justice”, the author calls for environmental justice which is rooted in intersectionality and the understanding that there is no “‘single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives’” (Jampel, 2018, p.2). Ensuring that community members of varying, intersectional identities and experiences are not simply consulted throughout the City of Toronto’s planning, but in significant decision-making positions will be integral in ensuring the success of the Resilience Strategy. As Jampel states, “liberation does not occur for multiple marginalized people without dismantling multiple systems of oppression, and explanations of social phenomena are incomplete if they do not consider those multiple systems” (Jampel, 2018, p.3). Ensuring that community members have the ability to name and dismantle these systems is integral and opens up the city for a future which is innovative, equitable and resilient. As expressed by Paralympian, physiologist and writer Hannah Dines, “Limited mobility does not have to mean a limited life, but new climate change policies must recognize the distinction if we are to maintain any level of disabled liberation” (Dines, 2019).

Works Cited

Dines, H. (2019). The climate revolution must be accessible – this fight belongs to disabled people too. The Guardian.

Jampel, C. (2018). Intersections of disability justice, racial justice and environmental justice. Environmental Sociology.

Wright, E. (2020). Climate Change, Disability, and Eco-Ableism: Why we need to be inclusive to save the planet. UX Collective.