Evidence and advocacy

A guide to resources on evidence and advocacy on climate change and disability.

This page is part of the Disability Debrief resource guide to climate change, lovingly compiled by Áine Kelly-Costello. It is made possible by support from readers and CBM Global.

Contents

• Academic, policy and news collections. A selection of overarching resource collections, literature reviews, and articles suggesting particular lines of research. They’ll be most useful for people looking for policy or academic evidence or reviews.
• Human rights, policy and legal. Articles specific to human rights, policy status and implementation, as well as lawsuits. See the resources above for further reviews and evidence about policy content.
• Disabled leadership and capacity-building. Perspectives included here come mainly from disability advocates working within organisations of persons with disabilities who are exploring climate advocacy, as well as good examples of collaborations.
• Conference of Parties (COP) and international advocacy. COP is one time in the year where multiple news outlets do, thanks to the efforts of disabled advocates, now cover the perspectives of disabled attendees, and exclusionary and inaccessible aspects.
• Financing. Donors with a strong disability rights focus are recognising the need for disability-inclusive climate response, and funding organisations of persons with disabilities to build their capacity in this area. But as an Australian example shows, there are also risks that as costs for climate relief balloon, governments may choose to make budget cuts impacting disabled people’s rights and support.

Academic, policy and news collections

Start with...

News collections on the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction and crisis response on Disability Debrief.

Going further...

• Disability and Climate Resilience Research Project. Multiple publication outputs linked. Led by Dr Maria Kett, 2017, Kenya and Bangladesh.

“The overall purpose of this one year research project is to increase understanding of the links between disability and climate resilience and to support delivery of policy and programme work that builds the resilience of people with disabilities to climate shocks and stresses.”

• Review of disability-related impacts in climate and environment academic studies. (Aleksandra Kosanic, Jan Petzold, Berta Martín-López, Mialy Razanajatovo. Science direct, 2022.)
• Disability and climate academic research anotated bibliography. Naomi Gupta for Disability Inclusive Climate Action Research Programme.
• Climate and disability resource collection - Sustain Our abilities.
• Climate and disability resource collection – Disability Inclusive Climate Action Research Programme.
• Disability and climate evidence compilation - SD Direct, 2021.
• The role of the scientific community in strengthening disability-inclusive  climate resilience. (Penelope J. S. Stein, Michael Ashley Stein, Nora Groce & Maria Kett, Nature, 2023.)
• The urgent need for disability-inclusive climate research – Jodoin et al. PLOS 2023.
• Treecharge blog: community climate adaptation  blog led by a disabled climate activist. Perth Australia.

Human rights, policy and legal

Start with…

Disability Rights in National Climate Policies: Status Report (Centre for Human Rights & Legal  Pluralism & International Disability Alliance, November 2022)

Going further...

• Human rights of disabled people regarding climate action. Elisavet Athanasia Alexiadou, Bill of Health, 2023.

“States have a human rights obligation to promote the full, meaningful, and informed participation of persons with disabilities in the context of policy-making and decision-making processes about climate change. This essay seeks to explain the basis for this obligation, outline its scope, and elucidate how states can ensure its fulfilment.”

• Linking UNCRPD and climate resilient development (Eriksen et al. Lancet Planet Health, 2021.)
• The Right To Be Rescued. (Disability Justice in an Age of Disaster. Adrien A. Weibgen, Yale Law Journal, 2015.) Explores the right of everyone including disabled people to be rescued from a legal standpoint, focusing on Hurricane Sandy as a case study.
• A Disability Rights Approach to Climate Governance (Jodoin, Ananthamoorthy & Lofts, 2020)
• Report on how UK disability strategy addresses climate change (Oxford Disability Law and Policy Project)
• UN Human rights Council resolution on climate change and disability rights. July 2019.
• Critical disability analysis of Canadian climate policy. Thesis. Sarah Ellen Macdonald, 2021.
• Article on San Antonio disability discrimination in disaster response lawsuit. Texas US. Greg Harman, Deceleration News, 2023.
• Environmental Justice Australia v. Australia. Complaint to UN special rapporteurs on how Australian government inaction on climate change undermines rights of young, disabled and First Nations people

Disabled leadership and capacity-building

Also see the section on leadership and upskilling needed for centring disability in disaster response. The section on disabled perspectives on climate activism is also relevant. Makes the case for the influence of disabled people being in the room as a powerful vector of change.

Start with...

Disabled messengers for change with Dr Mostafa Kamal Attia. (Enabling Commons podcast, includes transcript. 2023. Egypt/UK.)

Going further...

• Interviews with people with disabilities in Bangladesh and Madagascar on disability-inclusive climate action (CBM Global, 2022)
• Conversation with Nkhasi Sefuthi on capacity-building among NGOs on climate change in Lesotho on Enabling Commons podcast (includes transcript)
• Conversation with Ipul Powaseu on disability and climate justice in Papua New Guinea on Enabling Commons podcast (also covers intersections with gender and geographical challenges, includes transcript)
• Conversation with Gordon Rattray and Mary Keogh on leadership on disability and climate on Enabling Commons podcast (Europe/global, includes transcript)
• What do climate-focus agencies need to be doing to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in their work, and what should disability organisations need to be doing to ensure a focus on climate in their work? (Center for Inclusive Policy)
• National dialogue paves way for disability-inclusive climate action in Burundi. WCC News, 2023.

Conference of Parties (COP) and international advocacy

Start with…

How people with disabilities fought for formal recognition at COP27. Isabel Ruehl, Grist, 2022.

Going further...

• Can COP27 contribute to disability-inclusive climate justice Áine Kelly-Costello, Disability Debrief, 2022.
• COP27 – What has been done and what can still be done. European Disability Forum, 2022
• Disability Inclusive climate action advocacy paper to COP26 (Global Action on Disability (GLAD) Network Disability Inclusive Climate Action Working Group)
• Multiple access failures at COP26 ‘send shocking message’ to disabled people (Disability news service Nov 2021)

Financing

Start with…

Disability and climate justice research for donors (Dr. Maria Kett, Gaya Sriskanthan, Ellie Cole; Open Society foundations December 2021)

Going further...

• Ford Foundation on partnering with frontline disability communities via Global Green Grants fund. (Ximena Saskia Warnaars, 2020.)
• Analysis of initial evidence from Bangladesh, Kenya and Madagascar on links between climate response funding and UNCRPD/OPD funding (CBM UK, 2023)
• Disability Inclusion In Climate Finance. (Climate investment fund, 2022.)
• Money diverted from Australian National disability Insurance scheme to drought relief. (Anthony Colangelo, Sydney Morning Herald, 2018.)
• Join statement on Social Climate Fund (European Disability forum)