Disability and climate change report – it’s time to act
News | January 9, 2022
The need for a disability-inclusive approach to climate change is at a now or never moment, according to a new CBM Global report.
Climate Change: This Century’s Defining Issue by Mary Keogh, CBM Global’s Disability Inclusive Development Director, and Maria Paula Acuna Gonzalez, looks at the impact of climate change from four perspectives: personal, programmes, policy and political.
They state that:
“It is now widely accepted that climate change affects the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people and while data on its impact on persons with disabilities is not available, some estimates have suggested 20% among those most vulnerable to climate change are persons with disabilities. The aim of this working paper is to explore and analyse the different dimensions where climate change impacts on the lives of persons with disabilities. The momentum for this paper is to bring light to the fact that the need for a disability inclusive approach to climate change is at a now or never moment.”
The report highlights a lack of inclusion, representation and investment in people with disabilities in relation to climate change. It also cites positive examples of progress, for example how organisations representing persons with disabilities in the Pacific and Latin America are engaging in climate change.
Recommendations in the report set out key actions to ensure that people with disabilities and their representative organisations are not left behind in the global, national and local movements advancing climate justice.
https://cbm-global.org/news/disability-and-climate-change-report