Sea level rise and multispecies climate justice

Abstract:

Physical changes to the earth system resulting from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are already having myriad impacts on all parts of our shared planet. Sea levels have risen significantly over the past century and are projected to continue to increase for centuries to come, and to stay elevated for millenia. Determining the impacts that sea level rise has on biodiversity conservation, ecosystem functioning, and the wellbeing of individual humans and nonhuman animals is an important avenue to assess as we seek to confront the climate crisis in a way that centers climate justice. Multispecies climate justice allows us to look deeper into the interrelated ecologies of climate impacts by shifting away from a sole focus on humans to a broader assessment of interrelated beings and ecosystems. This talk will draw from political ecology, animal geographies, and biological and ecological sciences literature to present a preliminary framework for considerations of multispecies climate justice particularly as it relates to sea level rise drivers, impacts, and adaptations.

Keywords: climate justice, sea level rise, biodiversity

Authors: