Latour’s Explanation of Climate Denial: Beyond Modernity, Anthropocene

This research paper examines Bruno Latour's theories on climate change denial, specifically his focus on the ontological differences between Modernity and the Anthropocene and his call for a new language to replace the 'Modern gaze'.

• The author argues that Bruno Latour's post-human critique may inadvertently mirror common types of climate change denial found in the global North.
• The paper identifies several elements that are omitted from Latour's dualistic framework, including the diverse global responses to the Anthropocene, the role of modernity in shaping the relationship with nature, the modernist origins of Anthropocene discourse, and the way global governance discourses use posthumanist critique to normalize postcolonial power structures.
• The authors suggest that critical theory may be paradoxically complicit in the very denialism it intends to analyze and critique.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2021). Latour’s Explanation of Climate Denial: Beyond Modernity, Anthropocene. https://www.sei.org/publications/latours-explanation-climate-denial-beyond-modernity-anthropocene/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Latour’s Explanation of Climate Denial: Beyond Modernity, Anthropocene. 2021. https://www.sei.org/publications/latours-explanation-climate-denial-beyond-modernity-anthropocene/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Latour’s Explanation of Climate Denial: Beyond Modernity, Anthropocene |date=15 November 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/latours-explanation-climate-denial-beyond-modernity-anthropocene/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2021latours, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Latour’s Explanation of Climate Denial: Beyond Modernity, Anthropocene}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/latours-explanation-climate-denial-beyond-modernity-anthropocene/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }