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Jeremy Williams is the author of “Climate Change is Racist: Race, Privilege and the Fight for Climate Justice” which is due out June 10.
According to the editors, the book is “a brief and essential look at how structural racism plays out in climate change.”
Author Jeremy notes that the biggest polluting countries are predominantly white nations in the northern hemisphere, while people of color living in the southern hemisphere are seeing their lives significantly affected by climate change.
A father of two, Jeremy spent part of his childhood in Kenya and Madagascar – witnessing firsthand some of the worst injustices of climate change.
He told Luton News: “I have been writing about climate change on my blog The Earthbound Report for over a decade.
“The countries in the world that have contributed the most to emissions linked to climate change are the least punished in terms of its impact.
“There is a racial element in the fact that the people who largely cause climate change are white.”
Even among climate change activists, the issue of race has often been a taboo subject.
“I debated for years with myself and with others about whether this was something I should write,†Jeremy said.
“As a Briton in a country that has popularized coal everywhere else, we have a legacy to fight. While I think it’s important to remember that guilt doesn’t help, we have a responsibility, especially when, relatively speaking, we’re going to go down slightly.
“When I started writing this book, I was not aware of any other studies on this topic – but it started to gain traction.
“I think there is something of a wake-up call right now. We are finally seeing climate change start to happen.”
Climate change has now firmly entered the political arena, with all major parties committing to policies aimed at improving the environment.
More recently, activists from Black Lives Matter and other organizations have allied themselves with environmental policy.
“Generally people are starting to see the two things – racism and the environment – as connected,†Jeremy said.
“People often view racism as individual acts of cruelty, but climate change is structurally racist because it will affect people of color differently than people who are white.
“Recently, we have seen during the pandemic how easy it is to reduce emissions by doing less. You can reduce emissions by flying less or by driving less.”
The foreword to the book is written by Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, best-selling author of “This is Why I Resist”.
Speaking on Jeremy’s book, Dr Mos-Shogbaminu said: “It will open the minds of even the most ardent denial of climate change and systemic racism.
“If there is one book that will help you be an effective climate justice activist, this is it.”
For more information on “Climate Change is Racist: Race, Privilege and the Fight for Climate Justice†visit here.
