At first, environmentalism and right-wing extremism seem worlds apart. Most environmentalists such as us GCE students would consider ourselves as democratic, humanists, and progressive thinkers, invested in addressing climate change, global challenges and working for a sustainable future for all. Meanwhile, right-wing movements downplay or outright deny environmental problems. They typically follow a predictable path: Denial (the problem doesn’t exist), Trivialization (the problem isn’t that bad), and, in more extreme cases, Inevitability (the removal of limits on means/ “Entgrenzung der Mittel”). It is this latter path – what could be called ‘unhinged environmentalism’ or eco-fascism—that we must be aware of.

Fortunately, most right-wing political parties (like Germany’s AfD, France’s RN and Poland’s PiS) still deny or trivialize climate change and environmental degradation. While being a hindrance to the sustainability movement, it prevents more radical ideas from infiltrating mainstream debates. We must keep our eyes and ears open for the growing influence of such ideas, particularly online.

It is important to note that the far-right is a paradoxical one. The views presented here reflect extreme cases. Nonetheless, it’s crucial for environmentalists to understand these arguments to counteract their misuse of terminology, ethics, and democratic values.

Right Ecologism

Environmentalism is not a new topic for far-right movements. Nationalist, anti-immigration, and environmental themes have long been used to promote their agendas. One prominent argument is a Neo-Malthusian perspective, which frames sustainability problems because of resource scarcity and too many people using the resource. Rather than reflecting critically on resource overuse or advocating for shared commons practices, this view leads to exclusion and the securitization of current resource ownership and power structures. Many environmental scientists are familiar with Garrett Hardin’s “Tragedy of the Commons,” which highlights how resources can become overused when people fail to coordinate sustainable practices. What many might not know is that Hardin’s work has been co-opted by right-wing arguments. In one of his lesser-known works “Lifeboat Ethics” Hardin argued that wealthier nations cannot afford immigration because, in his analogy, if the lifeboat sinks, everyone is worse off. Such thinking, coming from an ‘environmentalist,’ is a far cry from what we might expect in the context of social responsibility. Similarly calls for “securing our lithium supply” by sending troops to mines in the global south are just the tip of the iceberg of nationalists “sustainability” ideas.

Terrorist attacks in Christchurch (2019) and El Paso (2019) provide horrifying examples of how environmental rhetoric can be weaponized. The manifestos of the attackers heavily referenced environmental issues like soil degradation and overpopulation, suggesting that in their logic environmental problems justify extreme measures against certain populations.

Beyond resource scarcity, right-wing extremists have also abused ecological concepts to reinforce their ideologies. The misuse of Darwinian theories in social settings to justify claims of racial superiority is well known, but can also be found in other ecological terminology. For instance, invasive species are used to create hierarchies between people. The “blood and soil” rhetoric of Nazism, which emphasized the connection between people and the environment they grew up in, has resurfaced in modern far-right discourse. Recently, members of France’s Rassemblement National argued that migrants “don’t fit the climate” of the nation or that their presence would destroy the environment, claiming that “migrants do not value our nature as we do.” This intertwining of nature protection with identity politics reflects a troubling shift in environmental discourse.

Historically, nature protection policies such as “protected areas” have been used as exclusionary tactics in places with marginalized populations, such as Yellowstone National Park or National Parks in India. The concept of “supremacy of Earth over people” was and is used to justify policies that excluded indigenous and local communities from protected lands. Such ideologies, built on the belief that the land should be “preserved” for the “right” people … we all know where we heard that before.

Discourse shifts

As the climate crisis intensifies, we see the discourses shift. With increasingly frequent and severe climate events, and the rise of climate-driven migration (“disaster displacement”), calls for extreme measures will likely gain support. As denialism becomes harder to sustain, we will see more voices advocating for drastic and unhinged solutions in the name of sustainability and survival. This could range from calls to halt migration entirely to demands for control over lithium resources in the Global South to ensure that the Global North maintains its power.

In this context, extreme measures once considered unthinkable could become more acceptable. The rise of such rhetoric is concerning because it moves previously extremist ideas into the mainstream of debate. A paraphrased Hannah Arendt, “Every time we put something in the right corner, the rest moves more to the center.” The normalization of extreme ideas, even in the name of environmentalism, holds a significant threat to democratic values.

So

What Now?

So, what can we do in response? There are no simple solutions. As environmentalists, scientists, and human beings, we must continue to speak out against the abuse of environmental rhetoric. We must work towards sustainability in ways that honor human rights and inclusivity. We should also advocate for a more transformative approach to sustainability science—one that emphasizes not just urgency of the problems but fairness, equity, and justice in the solutions.

Much has been written about the potential dangers of alarmist narratives in climate science. We must speak out against politics that separates us from them. But as we move forward as scientists, activists and citizens, it’s clear that we must find a way to build solution-oriented narratives that prioritize human rights, democratic values, and a vision of sustainability that serves everyone – not just the few.

This blog post is inspired by conversations, research on the “Völkische Szene” from Lüneburg University, and various pieces of literature:

• Außen Grün – innen Braun by S. Moore & A. Roberts (2022)
• Ecofascism Revisited by J. Biehl & P. Staudenmaier (1995)
• Department for Radicalization Prevention and Engagement in Nature Conservation: www.nf-farn.de
• Environmental migration: Migration Data Portal
• Discurse shift (in german): https://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/apuz/diskurskultur-2023/541849/rechtspopulistische-diskursverschiebungen/

The post Environmentalism and Right Extremism: A Growing Paradox appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Writing about the one COP seems impossible since there is not just one. I would say there are at least four COPs happening.

1. The real-COP: Beyond the surface of speeches and political posturing, this event is the “Conference of the Parties” for UN climate treaties. The negotiations that are happening whether something like “fossil fuel phase out” should be in the text or not, whether certain technologies count as clean and so on. This paragraph-pushing patience exercise is at the core of the conference. While it may sound tedious discussing one verb for an hour, the result could differentiate between legally binding or not and we have to value the democratic process, as slow and as minimal consensus as it may be.
2. The Dubai-COP: The fact that the climate conference is happening in a non-democratic, oil-rich nation, with over 2500 fossil fuel lobbyists whose presence was noticed, but under the radar of many. The Dubai-COP also included honorary guests such as “greenwashing”, “bigger COP = better COP?” and free public transport. 
3. The event-COP: Almost 100.000 people attended COP28. This is by far the largest UN gathering that ever happened and while a proportion definitely were focussed on the main part, “the real COP”, lots of efforts were poured into side events, plenaries, workshops and likewise. Basically like an industry conference where relevant players from NGOs, businesses and politics came together to form new collaboration networks and share their insights into the many-faceted problems of climate change. This is also the place where countless politicians pledge this or condemn that, which gets a lot of the media attention in the end.
4. The “my-COP”: This is the so-to-say personal event, with all the people you interacted with, the events you visited, how good your coffee was and which negotiation track you followed (it really changes your mood when after many hours one country blocks all the changes made in the last day and postpones the decision to next year).

Everybody has their own experience with all the different COPs and what follows will be some individual perspectives and :

Yanna: The moment I learned that GCE sends students to the COP every year I knew this was something I wanted to do, and I was not disappointed – it was an extraordinary experience. We were warned beforehand that it would be a bit overwhelming, and that was 100% true (I don’t think I’ve ever been as tired as I was after the first full conference day!). But I also found it incredibly inspiring. There is a huge amount of work being done worldwide to combat climate change, by a huge number of passionate, talented people. The media headlines usually make for gloomy reading, and negotiations are certainly an exercise in patience, but the fact that more than 150 nations, with all their differences in culture, national priorities, wealth, etc., can come to any agreements at all is arguably a cause for celebration. And, greenwashing or not, the fact that Dubai took on the hosting role shows that this issue is finally getting the spotlight on the world stage, even though there are plenty who would rather ignore it.

Honestly, there were many favourite moments – but a memorable one was attending a talk given by Al Gore where he unveiled Climate TRACE’s work on an independent, global analysis of emissions worldwide using satellite data. 

Challengings was answering the question ‘and what do you do?’. Of course students and academics in general are an integral part of the COP’s Observers, but I often felt intimidated when talking to people who are actively working on something truly impactful. Another challenge was finding delegates from countries that don’t have their own pavilions… some nations are better represented (and have louder voices) than others.

Attending the COP was an unbelievable privilege. It was also great fun to explore a new country, see the sun in the middle of European winter and, most of all, share the experience with some of the lifelong friends I’ve made through GCE!  

Once again, a huge thank you to the GCE Coordination who did everything possible to make this happen for us and also helped us along the way!

Anna: Let me add more details and share some of my experiences at COP28.

The COP venue has the so-called Green Zone which is the zone managed by the COP28 Presidency (in this case the United Arab Emirates), and the Blue Zone which is the UNFCCC-managed site. All the international protests and formal negotiations were held in the Blue Zone, and the accreditation badge is needed to enter this space. I have spent the majority of my time at COP28 in the Blue Zone besides some receptions in the Green Zone. However, many worthy events were located in the Green Zone, and it is more easily accessible for those who have not had a chance to receive “the magical badge”.

The pavilions of the countries were also situated in the Blue Zone and many of the side events held in such pavilions captured my attention. I can really recommend side events for powerful networking opportunities and expanding your contacts. When it comes to following the formal negotiations, I decided to focus on the process related to global stocktake. This was the first ever global stocktake taking place at a COP, and I thought that this was a unique event I was interested in most. 

It can be very much advised to pick a topic one would like to follow and research the materials on it in advance so that the respective talks at COP are understandable. But, how do you prepare yourself if a COP is such a huge event and you cannot even choose which sphere you are most interested in? That is a rhetorical question.

When it comes to my experience with following the process of global stocktake, there was one main draft document that I was reading in between the events and on public transport. I remember that there were some High-Level Events that were not open to the public, but I managed to follow the online translations on the COP28 virtual platform. That was a big win because I know that some participants did not even know about the existence of this platform, or they could not log into the system with their credentials.

Then, I remember how I was standing in a long line to one of the rooms hosting the global stocktake discussion and reading that one document, and then the online translation stopped because the representatives of the countries gathered in a big crowd in the middle of the room negotiating without their microphones. Many observers were not let into that room. After that, there was shocking news spreading around: the countries had decided to cancel the whole document and start it over from scratch! Wow, such a turn…

If you want to learn more about the documents and the negotiations, you are very welcome to join the regular meetings of your respective constituency of the UNFCCC. For GCE it is RINGO (Research and Independent Non-Governmental Organisations). It is very beneficial when you can cooperate with the other RINGO members to form chats on particular documents to share draft documents, analyze the outcomes of negotiations, and help each other to become smarter. For instance, the RINGO group on global stocktake was very helpful. But, you may also participate in the events of the other constituencies if you wish, e.g. YOUNGO. 

Gabriela: I participated in the second week and could observe the fatigue among attendees as the event drew to a close. Members were to focus on maximising progress in the conference’s final days with intensive work schedules and prolonged closed-door negotiations in the pursuit of a substantial outcome.

My favourite moment was the acknowledgment of agriculture and food systems as pivotal components in climate action represented a significant paradigm shift, because, historically, discussions have been predominantly centred around carbon dioxide emissions. This time, the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action marked a notable shift towards the acknowledgment of Methane emissions. This declaration emphasises the importance to integrate agriculture and food systems into broader climate mitigation strategies, highlighting food security, and environmental sustainability. As someone with a deep interest in this subject, witnessing this collective commitment was inspiring. Furthermore, the pavilions I visited had varied topics and the ones about the intersection of food and health catched my attention, where I engaged in stimulating discussions and forged valuable connections.

I recognized the need for greater preparedness among GCE students attending such big events. Understanding how to follow the negotiation dynamics, about networking strategies and side events would enrich the participation of students as observers and the possible impact their attendance could bring. Despite the challenges and frustrations encountered during negotiations, the COP highlights the importance of collaboration among the parties and diplomacy. 

Yuyang: Attending COP was an extremely amazing experience! It was so amazing to meet people from the whole world at such a small place (even though the venue is actually quite huge) and to see the diverse cultures. I was really amazed by how all the different countries use the same language. Here I do not just mean English, but the vocabulary people use to talk about climate change, carbon neutrality, renewable energy ect. Besides, this experience helped me to find out the topic for my master thesis. Therefore, I am very grateful that as a GCE student we can get such precious opportunities.

There are several things I found interesting. First was the conversation with a
‘special guest’ of the president of the COP28 from Saudi Arabia, who had been a negotiator for his country for almost three decades but was already retired. He spoke very frankly about how he does not believe in climate change and his negative feelings towards the west. Another one was during a side event, while talking about why the measures are taken so slowly,  a panellist quoted ‘no decisions can be made in an AC room’. It was funny and very relatable because everyone was freezing in the heavily air conditioned conference  rooms.

The challenge for me in the beginning was to schedule my day so that I wouldn’t waste any time. With so many events going on everyday, it was a bit overwhelming and I had to make the schedule the night before. I gradually learned not to be greedy, it was the quality rather than the quantity that matters. Another challenge was trying to make my experience more meaningful, not only for me, but also for other people. To be honest, I still have not figured it out.

… 

Back in the lecture halls of Bayreuth it is easy to forget that for thousands of people it is their daily job to negotiate daily within those international frameworks where we got a glimpse into. More importantly, for millions of people, climate change has profound daily impacts and we should not forget to take home the inspirations and momentum gathered from conferences and translate it into actions, motivation to keep going and hope. In a slightly updated John Lennon phrase: “Climate Change is what happens to us, while we are busy making other plans”.

Authors:

Flemming Ostermann, Yanna Raykov, Anna Mishakina, Gabriela Paz, Yuyang Li

Further reading

The post Behind the Scenes at COP28 in Dubai: Perspectives from GCE Students appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Throughout history, people have been creating maps to represent spatial objects. We naturally think in terms of spaces and the relationships between them, such as the location of a river, our address, our community, and so on. Thematic maps that showcase data related to specific topics, such as biogeography, health, and diseases, have become more prevalent in recent times, although antique examples from the Renaissance period can be found. It is difficult to think of these topics without picturing a map, whether it’s the spread of mosquitoes, nutrition levels around the world, or the local incidence of COVID-19. We have become accustomed to regularly checking COVID-19 incidence maps to see how carefully we should interact with others.

Mapping (in the sense of creating maps) requires multiple steps. Firstly, someone needs to gather data that will be referenced in space and time. Thanks to satellites and countless cartographers, researchers can start with a seemingly blank canvas (map) and add their own data. Another person may then use this data, presuming it to be correct and methodologically sound. The mapmaker does not need to know the original data gatherer’s intention. Instead, they create colourful maps and graphics to represent the data. The choice of map projection, of colours, and the choice of explanations or lack thereof – all this is part of one data interpretation by the mapmaker.

What is the nature of knowledge gained from the map?

As a reader, it is your task or rather your choice to hermeneutically translate this map and extract knowledge or explanations that are useful for you. However, the nature of the knowledge gained from the map is subjective. What you interpret from the map may vary greatly from what others interpret or what the mapmaker intended to convey. Miscommunications are inevitable. While some of these miscommunications may be harmless, others can reinforce stereotypes and preconceived notions about the state of the world. This can shape people’s realities, mindsets, and values (Wood, 2010 & Winther, 2020). Additionally, the social context that surrounds a map can be disguised as seemingly objective truths.

Does it make sense to showcase average differences between countries, even though the standard of living in bigger cities in Africa is comparable to “the West”?

A noteworthy example of how important context can be is the representation of Africa on many thematic maps. Within studying global changes and health, we became so used to Africa having “different colours than the rest” on thematic maps, whether we talk about nutrition, diseases, or education. The maps are more focused on showing and predicting, rather than explaining causal relationships (Winther, 2020). This raises the question of whether it is reasonable to showcase average differences between countries, even though the standard of living in major African cities is like that of Western cities. Furthermore, the categories used in maps, let’s say “no. of high-ranking universities in countries” are defined by some institution. This institution comprises a “Benennungsmacht”, a monopoly on setting categories of good/bad, setting indicators, and claiming to be “objectively right” (originally Bordieu, discussion at Mau, 2017). This approach disregards local individualism, and forces globally normed knowledge. In other words: qualitative differences are turned into quantitative inequalities. While this way of thinking is rooted in the realm of social science it has not quite reached the natural sciences. We could say that objectively it is better that fewer people are sick, or that some level of nutrition is better than others. But there are many cases where the categorisation, hierarchisation or metric is not inherently clear and may lack a rationale.

How does the reader experience maps? What consequences does this experience have in turn on the values and actions of the reader?

Another miscommunication stems from careless mapmaking and bad explanations of maps. This is particularly true for maps that are based on models, as it can be easy to misinterpret the information presented. Is this a scenario, a projection, a forecast or what is shown? Should I be afraid that this disease will spread over parts of Europe, or is this an external explorative scenario? Furthermore, there is a lack of research on the use of thematic maps in the fields of biogeography and health, which further complicates matters. A recent example of this is the discourse on “alarmist” colouring of Covid maps. Comparatively low incidences of Covid-19 were conveyed by a colouring scheme that some claimed to be harsh, alarmist and not appropriate for the situation. This is to show that maps have real effects on actions, going outside or staying home, feeling safe or scared, showcasing the power of maps.

Tom Sawyer, what’s a map for?

Ain’t it to learn you facts?

– Mark Twain

In this article, we explored some of the fallacies of mapmaking, such as misinterpretations and the institutions that govern classifying systems, as well as the formation of realities and their impact on our actions. Maps are a tool that represents a construct of what is out there. They can teach us about the nature of the land, like a picture of a landscape, but if we want to learn more, we must still go and visit the actual landscape. Maps can only capture what is measurable within our Western scientific framework.

Cartography used to be the interface of “art, science and technology”, with modern GIS systems we might lost the art, what does that mean to mapping and cartography? (Harley, 1989 & Winther, 2020).

Many of the maps we see today have lost touch with reality, as they are based on models or projections and have become more complicated as the data behind them has grown. Early maps only showcased single pieces of information, but advanced maps are now harder to judge and interpret. We need to be aware that maps are tools for us to understand and act in the real world. Without clear intent to be used in the real world, a map is just a picture.

What does this map tell me or someone to do?

Maps hold power and guide our actions, construct and overturn beliefs, and in the end, shape our perception of the world.

Thank you for taking the time to read until the end. I hope this text has sparked some questions and ideas, and I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic. Do you have any particularly good or bad maps in mind?

This blog entry was written within the seminar “Current Research in Health Implications of Global Change” by Dr. Stephanie Thomas.

References

Harley, J. (1989): Deconstructing The Map. Cartographica Vol. 26 No.2

Mau, S. (2017): Das Metrische Wir – Über Die Quantifizierung Des Sozialen. Suhrkamp

Twain, M. (1894): Tom Sawyer Abroad.

Wood, D. (2010): Rethinking The Power of Maps.

Winther, R. (2020): When Maps Become the World. The University of Chicago Press

The post All maps are wrong, but some are useful appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

An engaging program

The program offered a diverse range of workshops, podium discussions, skill-building sessions, and lectures on various topics. The event provided opportunities for networking through snack tables, workshops, and open discussion formats. In the evening, there were fun meeting programs such as speed dating, board games, and a science slam where scientists presented their research in a quick and humorous way.

With hundreds of possible options to choose from, I sometimes felt overwhelmed, but I was able to attend some activities that were valuable to me. One workshop that I particularly enjoyed was about constructive journalism, which provided practical information on climate communication to the public – a skill that may be just as critical as climate research itself.

Different views

During an event, I had the opportunity to personally meet the ambassador of the United Arab Empire. We discussed the upcoming COP28 (2023) in Dubai and exchanged views about the representation of the global south, the expectations of the host nation, and the interplay of diplomacy, geopolitics, and climate action. Despite the nation’s reputation as an oil-rich country, I found it interesting to have a face-to-face conversation about these issues. It was fascinating to observe how diplomats and politicians can talk about something without saying much. When I asked about behaviour changes and disruptive transformations, the ambassador’s response was deeply rooted in the current system logic along the lines of “technology will save us”. Although this was partly frustrating, I felt that everyone ended up learning something from each other.

It was truly inspiring to witness young people from diverse backgrounds actively participating in discussions, workshops, and panels with an incredible level of knowledge about sustainability. Even high school students, as young as 17 years old, were able to comprehend and effectively communicate the urgency of environmental problems to older politicians, which gave me hope for the future. Overall, the LCOY was a weekend well spent with great company, valuable insights, and engaging discussions. It was a reminder that each one of us can be an agent of change!

The post Empowering the Young – Visiting the LCOY Climate Conference 2023 appeared first on Global Change Ecology.