Black Climates

Notes on Race, our Environment, and visions for Equitable Futures

An accessible introduction to the connections between blackness and the climate crisis, with a focus on the Black British experience for readers of Mikaela Loach, Emma Dabiri and Afua Hirsch.

To want to 'save the planet', a person has to have a sense of belonging in it...
What would a saved planet look like for a Black collective?

'This book is validating and monumental' Courttia Newland
'Sensitive, powerful and necessary' Joycelyn Longdon

Globally, Black people are among the most affected by the climate crisis, despite contributing very little to it. For a long time, the crisis was portrayed as yet another injustice for Black people to care about, on top of the day-to-day oppression they face.

In Black Climates, Selina Nwulu reframes the crisis to encompass our disconnection from each other and the world around us. She argues that the root of climate change lies in historical colonial violence and ongoing exploitation, making it inherently racist.

Nwulu, former Young People's Laureate for London, uses her poetic and skilful voice to directly address Black British readers who have been previously ignored in mainstream environmental conversations. She includes interviews with a wide range of creatives and campaigners to explore a variety of subjects, including air pollution, prison ecology, disability justice, migration, food, nature, community care, and radical imagination.

This is an essential and empowering read for anyone who wants to fully understand the connections between Blackness and the climate crisis, providing the tools to envisage more equitable futures.