“Nothing About Us Without Us” — The Barriers and Enablers of Persons with Disabilities as Climate Change Agents

Abstract: This paper investigates what the barriers and enablers are for persons with disabilities and organisations of persons with disabilities to engage in climate action. The countries analysed are Bangladesh and Madagascar as two countries in the Global South who are similarly impacted by climate change. Persons with disabilities are one of the most marginalised groups in any society and one of the most heavily impacted groups by climate change. Living with a disability, they have invaluable knowledge on risk assessment and problem-solving skills, yet they often have no voice in policy making on climate change. Using the Capability Approach and Ableism within an Environmental Justice framework, this paper analyses the respondents’ stories gathered via interviews and surveys to better understand how they are impacted by climate change, and what their experiences have been engaging in climate action. The results show that whilst persons with disabilities are very concerned and impacted by the consequences of climate change, their engagement in climate action is riddled with inaccessibility issues, prejudice, and discrimination. Often, they are not represented in governmental, NGO, or civil society efforts on climate change, and many report to lack the capacity to bring climate change onto the agenda within the organisations of persons with disabilities. Thanks to awareness-raising and advocacy efforts, the situation has improved somewhat, but much more work and research needs to be done for disability inclusion within the climate sector.