Going green? I’m ashamed

The document is a personal statement by Jo Verrent, director of the UK-based organization Unlimited, discussing the tension between disability access needs and environmental sustainability. Verrent describes how necessary accommodations—such as non-recyclable medical supplies, taxi use due to fatigue, and energy-intensive hearing aid equipment—often conflict with standard 'green' guidance, leading to feelings of guilt and shame. The author criticizes environmental toolkits and apps for lacking nuance and stigmatizing the behaviors of disabled people. To address this, Verrent proposes centering disabled and marginalized people in climate debates, reforming green guidance tools to avoid stigmatization, and adopting a holistic approach to climate justice that includes disability justice. Additionally, the organization Unlimited is implementing internal decision-making tools that balance access requirements and fatigue levels with environmental impact.

• Disabled individuals often face a conflict between their essential access needs and environmental sustainability goals, as necessary accommodations can result in higher waste, carbon emissions, and resource use compared to non-disabled people.
• Environmental guidance materials, such as apps and toolkits, frequently fail to account for the lived experiences of disabled people, often labeling necessary access-related behaviors as negative and inducing guilt or shame.
• The author proposes three systemic changes: centering disabled and marginalized groups (including those with experience of poverty, migration, and homelessness) in green debates, requiring environmental tools to provide space for explaining why actions must be done differently, and integrating disability justice into a holistic view of climate justice.
• The organization Unlimited is developing practical internal supports, including a set of questions for travel decision-making that considers access requirements and fatigue levels alongside the necessity of the trip.

APA

Verrent, J. (2024). Going green? I’m ashamed. Klimakultur. https://www.klimakultur.no/nyheter/going-green-i-m-ashamed/

Chicago

Verrent, Jo. Going green? I’m ashamed. Klimakultur, 2024. https://www.klimakultur.no/nyheter/going-green-i-m-ashamed/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Verrent |first1=Jo |title=Going green? I’m ashamed |publisher=Klimakultur |date=19 December 2024 |url=https://www.klimakultur.no/nyheter/going-green-i-m-ashamed/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{verrent2024going, author = {Verrent, Jo}, title = {{Going green? I’m ashamed}}, publisher = {Klimakultur}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.klimakultur.no/nyheter/going-green-i-m-ashamed/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }