As I write we have seen on the front pages of all major newspapers the sobering images of the fires in Los Angeles. A curfew during the night caused by climate change with threat of arrest for those violating it. A dystopian reality revealing how climate change can limit our freedoms way more than the changes in mobility and food required to reduce emissions. Interestingly, this is probably one of the few cases where some of those who contributed the most to climate change are also facing consequences. And this is probably why we are reading so much about it.
While the news focus on the houses of the rich in Hollywood and Malibu, we are not told that they are also the most likely to be covered by insurance and to have other properties and assets, while not all the residents of the over 9,000 homes lost so far belongs to this superrich minority. We are also not told of how the firefighting force is inadequate due to cuts to public service and can only function due to often a 30% of exploited incarcerated labour, paid a pittance for risking their lives.
The injustice revealed by the LA fires is not only in the disproportionate attention of 10 deaths, while on the same day the Lancet calculates in at least 70,000 the number of Palestinian in Gaza killed by Israel up to last October. Hundreds were killed in these first days of 2025 and have barely made the news.
What we are not told are of the millions who already lost everything to climate change. Those forced to migrate. Despite 92% of the historical responsibility for causing climate change, most leaders of the global North celebrate the forced removal of these migrants from their soil, be these leaders belong to social democratic parties like Labour or the far-right. Keir Starmer just proudly announced record deportations with dehumanising language towards migrants. Leaders who spent billions contracting countries known for serious human rights violations to policy European borders. Ignored by main news outlets today was reported the expulsion and dropping into the Niger desert of 600 Nigerians who were in Libya, while a couple of days ago dozens were kidnapped and tortured in Libya for ransom.
We also largely ignored the news that 2024 has been by far the hottest year on record. And that the ‘safe’ level of 1.5° above pre-industrial times has already been exceeded.
This is happening in the context where the 1% of the richest has already finished their fair share of emission for the entire year and that they produce the same amount of emissions as the bottom 50% of humanity.
We are not linking the dots. Climate change is exacerbating injustice disproportionally affecting certain individuals and groups, precisely those who contributed the least to causing it. Those who caused this situation and their leaders are not only ignoring their responsibilities but actively engaging in warfare with climate victims. Clearly, with over half of the world’s population living in areas highly vulnerable to climate change, with many parts living in cities with temperatures well above 40 degrees for weeks, the movement of people, millions of them is inevitable, no matter how brutal is the war waged against them.
As someone whose house has been damaged by fire, I understand how devastating this experience can be, no matter the income level and the number of houses owned by those affected. I very much sympathise with Paris Hilton and other VIPs whose accounts are filling the media. I just hope that we can also hear other stories and that perhaps we take this moment of attention on climate to reflect, empathise and work towards a more just future.
Personal stories can lead to a better understanding of the complexity of climate impacts. In his book The Nutmeg’s Curse, Amitav Ghosh illustrates the story of Khokon, a Bangladeshi migrant in Italy, whose family’s land was flooded for six months in 1998 in addition to other weather-related disasters. They also got some of their land seized by the ruling party adding the political oppression to the multiple disasters. The family sold some of their remaining land for Khokon to pay agents to arrange his travel abroad and then sold all of their land for a second trip after he was deported. He ended up spending several years in Libya where he faced enslavement and torture. Making sense of his story, Khokon explained that he did not travel only because of CC but also because of political violence, the employment situation, family disagreements, and aspirations to a higher standard of living, and added that his travel was made possible by communication technology linking him with traffickers.
On my side, I want to dedicate my academic work to the collection and analysis of these stories revealing the intersectional inequalities of climate change, trusting the power of personal and collective storytelling to change science, policymaking and, hopefully, media discourse and public opinions.
Prof Andrea Rigon 