Communication rights are central to climate justice

The statement asserts that marginalized communities, particularly Indigenous peoples in the Global South, are disproportionately affected by climate change despite minimal contribution to it. It argues that these groups face systemic media barriers and colonial stereotypes that silence their political actions and climate struggles. The author contends that communication rights—including increased media access and the democratization of information systems—are necessary to amplify these voices and drive the political action required to tackle the climate crisis.

• Low-income communities in the Global South, including Indigenous peoples, rural women, family farmers, and the urban poor, are expected to experience more severe impacts from climate change than those in wealthier, higher-latitude countries, despite contributing almost nothing to the cause.
• Indigenous and grassroots leaders fighting the climate crisis are marginalized in the media, where they are often subjected to colonial stereotypes or portrayed as "living in the past" rather than being recognized for their political calls for climate justice.
• The democratization of media and information systems is critical to climate justice because the lack of visibility for those leading ground-level climate struggles hinders the creation of national and international political will for immediate action.
• To advance climate justice, communication rights activists should focus on increasing ICT and internet access for marginalized groups, allocating broadcasting licenses to community groups, and connecting grassroots activists with media houses.

APA

Rowley, S. (2021). Communication rights are central to climate justice. World Association for Christian Communication. https://waccglobal.org/communication-rights-are-central-to-climate-justice/

Chicago

Rowley, Saskia. Communication rights are central to climate justice. World Association for Christian Communication, 2021. https://waccglobal.org/communication-rights-are-central-to-climate-justice/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Rowley |first1=Saskia |title=Communication rights are central to climate justice |publisher=World Association for Christian Communication |date=20 September 2021 |url=https://waccglobal.org/communication-rights-are-central-to-climate-justice/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{rowley2021communication, author = {Rowley, Saskia}, title = {{Communication rights are central to climate justice}}, publisher = {World Association for Christian Communication}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://waccglobal.org/communication-rights-are-central-to-climate-justice/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }