Sustainable UCL’s top books and articles on Environmental Justice and Racism

Climate change is a global problem, but not everyone is impacted equally. Black, Indigenous and People of Colour around the world are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis -- from low-lying island nations in the Global South, to majority black and brown neighbourhoods in countries like the UK in the Global North.

Racism also affects participation in climate action aimed at protesting many of these injustices; a BAME¹ activist is much more likely to be confronted by police in a protest than a White activist. Although there are many BAME activists leading the climate debate, we can do much more to amplify their voices and increase the diversity of the environmental movement. 

These book and article recommendations provide insights into the systemic link between climate change and racism, whilst offering solutions for a fairer greener future. However, we invite you to also do your own research to reflect on the inclusivity of the environmental movement. 

Books

• Black Faces, White Spaces by Carolyn Finney
• Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility by Dorceta Taylor
• Garbage Wars: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Chicago by David Naguib Pellow
• Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices From the Grassroots by Robert D. Bullard (Editor)
• All we can save. Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis by Dr Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Dr Katharine K Wilson (Editors)
• Climate Justice: A Man-Made Problem With a Feminist Solution by Mary Robinson

• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Articles

• Between Air Pollution and Socioeconomic Characteristics, Ethnicity and Age Profile of Neighbourhoods in England and the Netherlands by Daniela Fecht et al. on PubMed.gov
• London’s black communities disproportionately exposed to air pollution by Adam Vaughan on theguardian.com
• Climate change and air pollution are race issues  by Friends of the Earth
• Climate change is a racist crisis: that’s why Black Lives Matter closed an airport by Alexandra Wanjiku Kelbert on theguardian.com
• Colonialism, The Hidden Cause Of Our Environmental Crisis by Séverine Kodjo-Grandvaux on WorldCrunch.com
• Racism Is Killing the Planet by Hop Hopkins on SierraClub.org
• White Supremacism and the Earth System by Nafeez Ahmed on Medium.com
• Black Environmentalists Talk About Climate and Anti-Racism by Somini Sengupta on nytimes.com
• I’m a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson on washingtonpost.com

¹ We recognise that “BAME”, like other umbrella acronyms relating to race and intersectionality, is a contested term. See these resources for further information:  

• https://folukeafrica.com/the-only-acceptable-part-of-bame-is-the-and/ 
• https://blackbritishacademics.co.uk/about/racial-categorisation-and-term...