This article has been adapted from its original version titled “Strengthening democracy through intersectional environmentalism in post-COVID-19 Windsor-Essex”, that was first published on Windsor Law - Centre for Cities.
by Cameron Fioret and Niharika Bandaru
The COVID-19 crisis is the most severe global health emergency in a century. It also mirrors broader effects of climate change, having exposed deep-rooted social inequities and disclosed the gaps and needs of communities most at risk of social, economic, and environmental harm. Both COVID-19 and climate change reveal a lack of democracy within these gaps (discrepancies in access to resources and information based on population demographics, like economic status, racial differences, age, sex, class etc.), making it necessary that the post-COVID-19 recovery embolden local, grassroots organizations that bolster democracy through “bottom-up” leadership.
The gaps and needs arising from both COVID-19 and climate change are clear in Windsor-Essex, and expose inadequacies in addressing the needs of marginalized and racialized communities. At a time of stringent need for safe living conditions and physical distancing, we saw stark examples of migrant workers in the region being housed in unhealthy, inadequate living conditions with a lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which led to a subsequent rapid rise of COVID-19 cases in their communities. In other parts of the world, it is frequently observed that communities of colour continue to be disproportionately affected by the pandemic. This is due to flaws in the distribution of public health measures, relief funds, ongoing food security issues, and a persistent legacy of structural racism and inequality. Systemic inequalities form the very heart of many societal issues that the climate crisis will worsen.
Climate Change concerns all of us
Climate change is not merely a matter of sea level rise and melting polar ice caps. The impacts of global climate change vary based on: geography; local weather patterns; socio-economic and political structures; population size and demographics; policy and planning; and existing social issues. In Windsor-Essex, we can expect more heat, more severe and frequent storm events, and higher lake level variability. Are the residents of affluent areas affected in the same ways as people living in subsidized housing? Will, for example, the elderly and those with health issues have timely access to resources just like the average residents of the region?
Environmental risks cannot be consistently and uniformly distributed across various groups and communities in a population. Factors such as age, poverty, and minority status make certain groups disproportionately more vulnerable to environmental risk and disease. Moreover, researchers like Gochfeld and Burger have observed that minority and low-income communities have been statistically more likely to live in neighbourhoods exposed to toxic waste, landfills, highways, and other environmental hazards. Just across the river in Detroit, community health in Black and Brown neighbourhoods deteriorates due to Marathon Petroleum oil refineries, whose vapour releases and chemical leaks have resulted in increased rates of cancer and asthma. This stark reality compels us to ask whether current climate adaptation planning in Windsor-Essex considers systemic inequalities in its delivery and execution of climate change initiatives.
On a positive note, some local environmental policies informed by members of the community have given us great examples of intersecting climate solutions and social issues. Before the COVID-19 crisis, exciting initiatives had been developed, such as the announcement of a "climate emergency" and the creation of Degrees of Change - Windsor's Climate Change Adaptation Plan (an ambitious policy that intends to retrofit 80% of Windsor homes for emissions reduction and energy-efficiency by 2041). Both attest to Windsor’s progressive stance on climate change. These initiatives incorporate community involvement while considering the multifaceted nature of climate change—recognizing the scientific and social importance of the climate crisis and how solutions must also be intersectional.
What is intersectional environmentalism?
There are many people in Windsor-Essex actively working to make the post-COVID recovery more environmentally and socially equitable through an intersectional environmentalism lens (for example, the Canadian government’s “equity approach to COVID-19,” or (more locally) the implementation of environmentally friendly disinfection sprays).
This kind of approach means facing post-COVID recovery as something that crosses various and intertwined societal factors. In regards to climate change, an intersectional environmental lens will allow people (municipalities, community organizations, educational institutions and other stakeholders) in Windsor-Essex to address who will most be affected by climate change and subsequently have the least access to resources in the post-COVID, climate change-affected future, while focusing efforts on local civil actions and on strengthening municipal democracy.
The word around the block
Community leaders in Windsor-Essex speak to the importance of intersectional environmentalism and local community involvement in supporting local democracy. In an exclusive interview, Derek Coronado, Executive Director of Citizens Environment Alliance, says that the COVID-19 crisis has “shone a light on the work people do in the community that is not looked at very closely, on those who do not have organizing rights in Windsor-Essex and across the province of Ontario.” This fact highlights the importance of communicating environmental and social issues as they relate to each other. Additionally, “the expressions of dissatisfaction during COVID-19 – such as protests for Indigenous rights and the Black Lives Matter movement – is an expression of trying to hold powerful actors [accountable],” Coronado states. Strengthening democracy during and post COVID-19 is, then, to strengthen accountability and responsibility of political leaders through community engagement and communication.
“The expressions of dissatisfaction during COVID-19 – such as protests for Indigenous rights and the Black Lives Matter movement – is an expression of trying to hold powerful actors [accountable].”
“For outlets such as Windsor of Change, responsibility lies in acknowledging the importance of lending an avenue for representatives of minority groups and specific vulnerable populations to tell their stories and voice their concerns,” states Prabarna Ganguly, Special Advisor of Windsor of Change. “Bringing the concerns of marginalized communities forward through appropriate representatives can be one of the most effective ways we can educate and inform decision-makers, elected officials, private and public officials, and the general public of the specific struggles of these communities.”
Climate change adaptation and mitigation cannot be one-size-fits-all propositions, but strategies of tailored solutions to specific demographics, and one important step in devising these kinds of sustainable climate policies is to make to make them accessible to the public with language that both experts and non-experts can understand, so as to facilitate communication and discussion and subsequently increase community involvement.
In an age of environmental crises, apathy, and deep-seated cynicism, people's efforts in demanding environmental justice and in highlighting the importance of intersectionality undertake compelling models of resistance, regeneration, and resilience through an intersectional lens, including:
Opening spaces for voices of diverse communities on the frontline of environmental impacts
Highlighting impacts of local climate change on marginalized communities
Top down vs bottom up climate policy (in which solutions are driven at the grassroots level more than from higher authority figures in an establishment)
Making sustainability “front and centre” in policies, debates, and activism, according to Claire Sanders, Climate Change Specialist at Essex Region Conservation Authority.
Post-COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex has got to be a transformative period of combined community involvement supported by intersectional environmentalism and the strengthening of our local democracy.