Intersectional Climate Justice in Eastern Africa

This book is boldly unconventional – containing contributions by academics and activists that are interspersed with creative pieces, privileging voices from the Eastern African region, and foregrounding the embodied and real-life experiences of climate change by diverse local communities. Doing so, it exemplifies the new modes of knowledge production, or better: co-production, required in the face of the current climate crisis: African-centred, pluriversal, transdisciplinary, inclusive and transformational. Together, the contributions demonstrate passionately and urgently the need for, and value of, an intersectional approach to climate justice. * Adriaan van Klinken, Professor of Religion and African Studies, University of Leeds, UK; author of 'Kenyan, Christian, Queer' *
This is a rare and empirically rich edited collection using intersectionality as an analytical lens and offering innovative responses to the complexities of climate injustice. Based on ethnographic, visual and artistic methodologies, it is unique in raising African voices - foregrounding local experiences, perspectives and justice approaches. A must-read for everyone interested in the emerging field of intersectional climate justice. * Andrea Schapper, Professor of International Politics, University of Stirling, UK *
Intersectional Climate Justice in Eastern Africa is a terrific and deeply insightful book! A spark of fresh reflection of climate justice concept in the real context of Eastern Africa with flawless specimens from across the Majority World and beyond. A collection of empirical research evidence-based reports that highlights surging inequalities and vulnerability worsened by climate injustice, the book is a bold call to all actors across the spectrum to rethink individual actions, legal and policy frameworks on top of contribution of civil society for most appropriate climate responses. The work greatly benefits from the centring of activist voices from the region. * Antonio Kalyango, Environment activist and Executive Director of Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Uganda *
This book powerfully illustrates two key dimensions of climate justice. First, that local people facing the brunt of the climate crisis hold knowledge, ideas, and solutions rooted in lived experience - wisdom that must inform policy and practice. Second, that equitable access to and governance of healthy ecosystems by marginalized groups offers the most just, feasible, and sustainable path to climate resilience - because it centers basic human rights. Intersectional Climate Justice in Eastern Africa is a vital and timely contribution that affirms the power of local leadership and the urgency of justice-driven climate action. * Barbara Nakangu, Senior Manager of the People Powering Biodiversity Program, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Uganda *
This is an incredibly exciting and unique compilation of research, commentary and art, exploring intersectional climate justice from a remarkable range of researchers, practitioners and artists, predominantly East African voices. The sheer breadth of the topics explored through different lenses provides one, whether seasoned and experienced or early in their career, with deep insights and understanding of the global crises, the links between climate change and social justice, and issues of ethnicity, colonialism, age, gender, sexuality, citizenship, cultures, poverty and healthcare, among others. This timely, critically important book has something for everyone to explore, learn from and build upon. * Beth A. Kaplin, Honorary Professor, Center of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management, University of Rwanda; Senior consultant, BIOCEM-RD, Rwanda *
Intersectional Climate Justice in Eastern Africa is a vital and timely contribution to climate discourse. It powerfully illuminates how gender, class, ethnicity, and governance intersect with environmental vulnerability in one of the world’s most affected regions. Grounded in local realities and rich in analysis, the book challenges one-size-fits-all climate solutions and advocates for inclusive, context-specific approaches. Essential reading for policymakers, activists, and scholars seeking equitable climate action rooted in justice and resilience. * Beverly Musonda Mushili, Lecturer in Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development at University of Zambia and a PhD Candidate in Environment and Society at University of Pretoria, South Africa *
Often when people think of academic writing, they think impenetrable. This book is not that. Intersectional Climate Justice in Eastern Africa is a powerful testament to the region’s resilience and ingenuity. By centering marginalised voices and African perspectives, it reframes global climate discourse with both urgency and hope. It not only amplifies the voices of youth activists but also demonstrates that climate knowledge takes many forms. This is a book that deserves to be read across the region and beyond. * Juliet Grace Luwedde, Global Focal Point for the UNCCD Youth Caucus and former East Africa Regional Coordinator for the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC), Uganda *
Intersectional Climate Justice in Eastern Africa is a landmark contribution to climate literature, urgent, expansive, and deeply grounded. By exploring the climate crisis through the intersecting lenses of gender, displacement, energy access, land rights, and Indigenous knowledge, this volume powerfully illuminates the structural inequalities embedded in global climate discourse. Its regional focus on Eastern Africa reveals the rich diversity of lived experiences and offers transformative insights into climate justice. With voices from scholars, activists, and artists, many rooted in the region, the book not only decolonizes climate narratives but reimagines the methodologies we use to understand them. A must-read for anyone committed to climate justice, equity, and epistemic transformation. * Kariuki Muigua, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi, Kenya *
Intersectional Climate Justice in Eastern Africa is a vital resource for understanding climate vulnerability and justice, both in Eastern Africa and globally. By centering the lived realities of one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, this book exposes the deep structural inequalities that shape how communities experience environmental crises. By bridging theory and practice, the book redefines climate justice through an African lens, essential for scholars, policymakers, and activists committed to inclusive climate action. A decolonial triumph and a call to listen, especially to those most affected. * Ngcimezile Mbano-Mweso, Senior Lecturer and Head of Public Law and Clinical Legal Education, University of Malawi *
Whether you are female, Indigenous, poor, gay, a migrant, a child, a senior, differently-abled, a rural dweller, a slum-dweller, or any combination, your specific identity and social position matter very much with regard to your ability to survive climate-related disasters. This is clearly a justice issue, and it has huge economic and socio-political implications. In this welcome open-access book, an impressive group of activist African scholars with lived experience of climate injustices share detailed, specific examples of how climate chaos produces mounting and intersectional impacts across Eastern Africa, providing the focus and granularity needed for broad understanding and effective policy. * Patricia E. (Ellie) Perkins Professor, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Toronto, Canada *
The strive of this book, to bring together a community of researchers, activists, and creatives, underscores the efforts to bring to the fore voices of the most impacted and transform the complex politics of knowledge production, and ultimately, its use. This book is a live challenge to all to explore appropriate channels to center outcomes in the policy process as well as new methodological approaches. It will serve as a useful tool for those advocating for climate justice in Eastern Africa and fighting with communities at the frontline of the climate crisis. * Philip Kilonzo, Head of Policy, Advocacy and Communication, Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), Kenya *
This book arrives at a time when both climate policy and research urgently need to better understand how intersecting identities – gender, ethnicity, age, disability, and sexuality – shape lived experiences of climate change. From colonial legacies to patriarchal norms, the vulnerabilities of marginalised communities in Eastern Africa have been understudied. The contributors to this book not only amplify voices from this often-overlooked region but also provide a much-needed demonstration of how intersectionality can be practiced as a methodology. This book underscores that intersectionality is a pathway to inclusivity in climate policy and research, and is essential reading for anyone seeking grounded approaches for applying the concept in climate-related work * Sennan David Mattar, Mary Robinson Centre for Climate Justice, Glasgow Caledonian University , UK *