Intervention: The Invisible Labor of Climate Change Adaptation

13 Pages Posted: 24 Apr 2023

See all articles by Leigh Johnson

Leigh Johnson

Department of Geography, University of Oregon

Michael Mikulewicz

State University of New York (SUNY) - College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF)

Patrick Bigger

The Climate and Community Project (CCP)

Ritodhi Chakraborty

University of Canterbury

Abby Cunniff

University of California, Santa Cruz

P. Joshua Griffin

University of Washington

Vincent Guermond

Royal Holloway University of London

Nicole Lambrou

University of California, Merced

Megan Mills-Novoa

University of California, Berkeley

Benjamin Neimark

Queen Mary University of London

Sara Nelson

University of British Columbia (UBC)

Costanza Rampini

San Jose State University

Pansang Yangjee Sherpa

University of British Columbia (UBC)

Gregory Simon

University of Colorado at Denver

Date Written: November 10, 2022

Abstract

While adapting to the impacts of climate change will require massive human efforts across landscapes, economies, and everyday social life, adaptation is rarely conceptualized as work conducted by laboring people. In this intervention, we suggest that the conditions under which this largely invisible adaptation labor is currently carried out – in which workers are frequently underpaid, unpaid or unfree - should become a key concern for scholars and advocates of climate justice and just transitions. We propose an inclusive definition of climate adaptation labor and mobilize it to examine how the conditions of life under climate change are being produced and reproduced, by whom, and for whose benefit. Drawing from diverse cases across 12 countries in both Global South/Majority world and Global North/Minority world contexts, we investigate the institutions and labor regimes through which adaptation labor is currently organized and (under)remunerated. We highlight how social difference and power entwine to devalue this work, particularly through idioms of “participation” and “contribution”, and draw attention to the agency, autonomy, and claims-making power of adaptation laborers. Crucially, we suggest theoretical and practical approaches for transforming adaptation labor into a vehicle for redistribution and just transition.

Keywords: climate change adaptation, labor, redistribution, just transition, climate justice

Suggested Citation

Johnson, Leigh and Mikulewicz, Michael and Bigger, Patrick and Chakraborty, Ritodhi and Cunniff, Abby and Griffin, P. Joshua and Guermond, Vincent and Lambrou, Nicole and Mills-Novoa, Megan and Neimark, Benjamin and Nelson, Sara and Rampini, Costanza and Sherpa, Pasang Yangjee and Simon, Gregory, Intervention: The Invisible Labor of Climate Change Adaptation (November 10, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4416499 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4416499

Leigh Johnson (Contact Author)

Department of Geography, University of Oregon ( email )

1280 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
United States

Michael Mikulewicz

State University of New York (SUNY) - College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF)

208 Bray Hall
1 Forestry Drive
Syracuse, NY 13210
United States

Patrick Bigger

The Climate and Community Project (CCP)

Ritodhi Chakraborty

University of Canterbury ( email )

Abby Cunniff

University of California, Santa Cruz ( email )

P. Joshua Griffin

University of Washington ( email )

Vincent Guermond

Royal Holloway University of London ( email )

Nicole Lambrou

University of California, Merced ( email )

P.O. Box 2039
Merced, CA 95344
United States

Megan Mills-Novoa

University of California, Berkeley ( email )

310 Barrows Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

Benjamin Neimark

Queen Mary University of London ( email )

Sara Nelson

University of British Columbia (UBC) ( email )

Costanza Rampini

San Jose State University ( email )

San Jose, CA 95192-0066
United States

Pasang Yangjee Sherpa

University of British Columbia (UBC) ( email )

Gregory Simon

University of Colorado at Denver

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