The Politics of Representation in the Climate Movement

The author argues that the disproportionate fame of Greta Thunberg, the "Greta effect", is a symptom of a system that privileges white activists from the Global North while marginalising activists of colour. This bias extends from media coverage—where people of colour are often stereotyped as victims or erased entirely—to environmental policymaking, where the exclusion of marginalised voices leads to projects that harm indigenous and minority communities. The document advocates for an intersectional approach to climate action to address these power imbalances and ensure that those most affected by climate change can own their narratives and influence policy.

• The "Greta effect" is driven not only by timing and persona but by the structural privileges of being a middle-class white girl from the Global North, which facilitates easier access to media and power structures.
• Mainstream media disproportionately focuses on white activists and often erases or stereotypes people of colour, as evidenced by the Associated Press cropping Black Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate out of a photo from the 2020 World Economic Forum.
• Lack of ethnic diversity in newsrooms correlates with biased coverage; for example, a 2015 Reuters Institute study found that Black Britons represent only 0.2 per cent of British journalists despite making up 3 per cent of the population.
• The exclusion of people of colour from environmental policymaking leads to projects that violate human rights and displace indigenous populations, such as the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam on the Tabasara River in Panama under the Kyoto Protocol.
• Communities of colour in the Global North are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards; in the American North-East and mid-Atlantic, people of colour face 66 per cent more air pollution on average, with those of Hispanic descent facing 75 per cent more.
• An intersectional approach is necessary to challenge the current climate debate by acknowledging how race, religion, and class interact to create imbalances in power and resources.

APA

Najafi, A. (2020). The Politics of Representation in the Climate Movement. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-politics-of-representation-in-the-climate-movement/

Chicago

Najafi, Alast. The Politics of Representation in the Climate Movement. Green European Journal, 2020. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-politics-of-representation-in-the-climate-movement/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Najafi |first1=Alast |title=The Politics of Representation in the Climate Movement |publisher=Green European Journal |date=17 July 2020 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-politics-of-representation-in-the-climate-movement/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{najafi2020politics, author = {Najafi, Alast}, title = {{The Politics of Representation in the Climate Movement}}, institution = {Green European Journal}, year = {2020}, month = jul, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-politics-of-representation-in-the-climate-movement/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }