Lost and Damaged: Environmental Racism, Climate Justice, and Conflict in the Pacific

Abstract

Pacific Island Nations are at great risk from climate change impacts such as storms and sea level rise. In the next century, they face the possibility of losing their homes and land, and having to relocate elsewhere; though questions of to where, how, and when remain open. To better understand these uncertain futures, we look to the past for answers on how these precarious circumstances have come about, examining the contribution of racist colonialism to environmental destruction and climate vulnerability. Telling the story of two islands—Nauru and Banaba—we imagine how it may be possible to begin approaching climate justice through international policy. Thus far, climate negotiations at the international scale have failed to meet the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. However, we see a possibility for just futures with the incorporation of a mechanism on loss and damage that must hold countries accountable for their destructive pasts.