Lessons from the LGBTQ+ Movement for Climate Change
By Rishikesh Bhandary
June is LGBT Pride month and this gives us an opportunity to reflect on how the wider struggle for LGBT equality may inform our work on climate change. There are some striking parallels that I discuss below including the acceptance of the reality of climate change, the need for broad coalitions, and the zig-zag trajectory of progress.
Coming to grips with reality
A large part of the coming out experience for members of the LGBTQ+ community is letting go of the idealized notions of who one is supposed to be. The process of transformation requires letting go such idealized notions and embracing the reality of who one really is. The same applies to facing climate change. Psychologists have talked about the need to mourn the grief that comes with realizing that the planet we thought we would inherit is going to be different and far more uncertain than what we had probably expected. Holding on to how the planet was in the past, however, can prove to be a stumbling block. Without directly coming to terms with this reality, we cannot embark on a different vision of the future. One of the implications of this is that frightening people into action on climate change may not work. In “A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety” Sarah Jacquette Ray writes about the need to frame climate solutions not in terms of “sacrifice” or “denial” but as a more generative visioning of the what we desire.
Building broad coalitions
Jo Springer’s retelling of the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act illustrates all too well how building broad coalitions was critical in the fight for LBGTQ+ rights. Having a prominent conservative voice back the legal challenge was fundamental to the strategy. Similarly, we might want to question a go-it-alone approach to climate change. Some advocates believe such a strategy is necessary to allow citizens to reap the benefits of climate action. The thinking goes that people will not want to lose the benefits they have and this will fundamentally change the political terrain on climate change. While this assumption may very well turn out to be true, this piecemeal approach cannot be an effective substitute for comprehensive legislation that is required to provide clarity of direction and the stability needed to tackle climate change effectively.
Multi-speed, multi-vector
There are certain non-negotiables. The world needs to get to net-zero. Human rights are LGBTQ+ rights and vice versa. But if the LGBTQ+ movement tells us anything, while the destination may be clear, there will be plenty of bumps and detours along the road. Despite the tremendous progress that has been made in the legal recognition of LGBTQ+ rights, there also have been significant roll backs. Progress cannot be taken for granted and requires sustained effort in pushing forward.
Similarly, there is no one path to a net-zero world and countries will have to chart out their own unique trajectories based on their own contexts and priorities. Elections may occasionally create setbacks but the unpredictable political cycles cannot be an excuse for inaction.
Criticizing a government’s record on LGBT rights has provoked backlash in numerous contexts, ranging from Uganda to Hungary. When such criticism is misplaced or misdirected, it becomes fodder for those who dismiss LGBT rights as Western or foreign. As climate advocates think about supporting climate action in other countries, they must wrestle with the same question: how can you avoid backlash and not undermine the very champions that you seek to promote?
Finally, the LGBTQ+ movement reminds us that we must not take the status quo for granted. The LGBT movement is not just an act of resistance. At its core, it’s also a struggle to uncover universality that cuts across boundaries. As James Baldwin has said in so many different ways: there is nothing in you that is not in me and there is nothing in me that is not in you. The same universality applies to climate change – it affects all of us.
Rishikesh Bhandary is a postdoctoral scholar at The Fletcher School, Tufts University.