Climate, Capital, Conflict: Geographies of Success or Failure in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

Anthropogenic climate change will disproportionately affect equatorial regions and closely adjacent areas, referred to here as the Fateful Ellipse. The vulnerability of these regions is exacerbated by a lack of capital for adaptive measures against the impacts of climate change. The increasing transference of capital from governmental control to private hands, and the increasing concentration of such capital into the hands of fewer individuals raises further concerns about capacity to mitigate or adapt to climate change. In addition, conflicts arise regarding the choice of climate change solutions. Ironically, the people of the Fateful Ellipse, who are most vulnerable to climate change, produce the lowest amount of carbon per capita. As a result of the colonial enterprise, including slavery, they also paid a heavy price toward the economic ascendency of Europe and North America and the Industrial Revolution that fueled the rise in greenhouse gas production. The discipline of geography itself owes some measure of its development and ascendency to colonialism and the exploitation of the Fateful Ellipse. As geographers we have the capacity, and a special responsibility, to contribute to the development of climate change solutions and global environmental justice.

人为的气候变化，会不成比例地影响赤道及其相邻区域（即，命运椭圆）。这些地区的脆弱性，由于缺乏应对气候变化影响所需的资金而加剧。资本持续地从政府转移到私人、持续地聚集在少数人手中，进一步增加了我们对减轻和适应气候变化的能力上的顾虑。此外，气候变化解决方案的不同选择也带来了冲突。具有讽刺意味的是，命运椭圆的脆弱性最强，但那里的人均碳排放最少。由于殖民经营（包括奴隶制），命运椭圆为欧美经济优势和（产生温室气体的）工业革命付出了沉重的代价。地理学的发展和优势也得益于对命运椭圆的殖民主义和掠夺。做为地理学者，我们有能力和责任为解决气候变化、实现全球环境正义而贡献力量。

El cambio climático antropogénico afectará de manera desproporcionada a las regiones ecuatoriales y áreas adyacentes, referidas aquí como la Elipse Funesta. La vulnerabilidad de estas regiones se ve exacerbada por la falta de capital para medidas adaptativas contra los impactos del cambio climático. La creciente transferencia de capital desde el control gubernamental a manos privadas, y la creciente concentración de tal capital en manos de unos pocos individuos levanta mayores preocupaciones sobre la capacidad de mitigar o adaptarse al cambio climático. Además, se presentan conflictos en lo que concierne a la escogencia de soluciones al cambio del clima. Irónicamente, la gente de la Elipse Funesta, que son los más vulnerables al cambio climático, producen las mínimas cantidades de carbón per cápita. Como resultado de la empresa colonial, incluida la esclavitud, ellos pagan también un alto precio hacia la ascendencia económica de Europa y Norteamérica, y la Revolución Industrial que alimentó el alza en la producción de gases de invernadero. La propia disciplina de la geografía, por su desarrollo y ascendencia, está en deuda en cierta medida con el colonialismo y la explotación de la Elipse Funesta. Como geógrafos, tenemos la capacidad, y una responsabilidad especial, para contribuir al desarrollo de soluciones sobre el cambio climático y la justicia ambiental global.

Key Words:

• capital
• climate change
• conflict
• Fateful Ellipse
• geography
• inequality

关键词：:

• 资本
• 气候变化
• 冲突
• 命运椭圆
• 地理学
• 不平等

Palabras clave::

• cambio climático
• capital
• conflicto
• desigualdad
• Elipse Funesta
• geografía

Acknowledgments

I express my profound gratitude to the membership of the American Association of Geographers for electing me president and providing me the opportunity of presenting this address. The resulting article was written during my tenure as a Global Visiting Fellow at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. I thank the members of the University, my colleagues in the School of Geography and Sustainable Development, and the Head of the School, Professor Keith Bennett MRIA, for support and hospitality. I thank Daniel Clayton of St. Andrews and Eric Sheppard of UCLA for their generous time and thoughtful comments on an earlier draft of the article. I also thank the Reverend Dr. Donald MacEwan, Chaplain to the University, and the Turning Pages study group at St. Andrews for fellowship and much useful discussion of an earlier draft of the article. David Butler provided a careful reading and many appreciated edits.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Glen MacDonald

GLEN MacDONALD is a Distinguished Professor and the John Muir Memorial Chair in Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524. E-mail: [email protected]. His research focuses on climate change and its impacts on natural systems and societies.