Climate change is now on nearly everyone’s tongue, but climate change is the language of systems and science. That is not to suggest in any way that it is invalid, but it does not take us all the way to the end of the narrative, which is that vast swaths of the human population are not materially contributing to the climate crisis, but they are disproportionately affected by the consequences of it. This is where the language of climate justice comes into play. From farmers in Africa dealing with failing crops from heat and drought to the loss of ice fishing and related cultural traditions of the Inuit to population vulnerable to saltwater inundation and the effects of ocean acidification in the Seychelles, communities around the world do not have the resources, access or opportunity to pursue the adaptation and resiliency strategies that are much discussed in wealthier and more prosperous parts of the world. Individuals and families are at risk, international stability is at risk, and our cultural heritage is at risk.
Climate justice gives us the words and concepts to frame and then address these and countless other intertwined challenges that affect access to nutrition, access to clean water, access to education, access to economic opportunity, an expectation of peace and prosperity, and the ability and in fact the right to care for our collective legacy and culture and gift it to the generations that come after. Our final discussion for ESG Week is with Professor Warren Senders of the New England Conservatory of Music. We explore the interconnectedness of climate science, indigenous wisdom, and world art and culture, and our collective responsibility to care for the planet we have, and to care equitably and justly for the people on it.
Warren Senders is an internationally recognized musician and educator with decades of involvement in the artistic and pedagogical traditions of India as well as those of Western, African and African-American musics. He has received numerous fellowships and awards for his mastery of the Hindustani khyal vocal style; and his concerts in India, Europe and North America have been widely acclaimed. He is also trained as a jazz bassist and founded the pan-cultural ensemble Antigravity in 1981. As a teacher, he is a dedicated advocate of experiential “learning-by-doing.” As part of his work with the Music-in-Education faculty at New England Conservatory of Music, he has developed curriculum initiatives in which music from many cultures is integrated into the pedagogical process in subjects as diverse as poetry, history and art. An expert on the stimulation and nurturing of individual creativity, Mr. Senders is on the faculty of Music Education at the New England Conservatory of Music, and is also a creativity consultant for Babson College’s MBA program, and a core member of Boston’s Jazz Composers’ Alliance.
Warren’s own personal “awakening” to the threat of climate change came in the years immediately after his daughter was born in 2005. Contemplating the future she was likely to inherit, he vowed to spend as much time and energy as he possibly could on fighting for climate-change awareness and action. He resolved in 2009 to carry out at least one action for climate-change awareness every day, and spent four years writing almost 1500 letters on different aspects of the climate crisis to newspapers and magazines all over the world, typically getting anywhere between 6-10 published every month.
In addition, he produced semi-annual benefit concerts for the climate advocacy organization 350.org, organized the “Climate Message” video project, got arrested in 2016 for civil disobedience (blocking a Boston-area pipeline construction project), and since 2015 sustained a daily vigil at a heavily- trafficked intersection near his home in Medford, Massachusetts, where every weekday morning he stands with signs urging responsible action on climate change.
Selected links on Climate Justice
Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice, A centre for thought leadership, education and advocacy on the struggle to secure global justice for those people vulnerable to the impacts of climate change who are usually forgotten – the poor, the disempowered and the marginalised across the world.
“Indigenous Peoples and Climate Justice in the Arctic“, Shaugn Coggins, James D. Ford, et. al, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Climate Justice, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
“Climate change: Land degradation and desertification“, World Health Organization
“Global warming of 1.5 degrees C“, An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty
“Neglected: Environmental Justice Impacts of Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution“, United Nations Environment Programme
Music4ClimateJustice, A Radical Collaboration to Save the Planet