A Belgian woman with disabilities, living near Liège, survived a nightmare in 2021. France – the woman in question - is deaf, visually impaired, and uses a wheelchair. She had to crawl up the building’s stairs to save herself from drowning when she was caught in the catastrophic floods of that year.
France’s story is just one of the many examples of how climate change and weather-related disasters disproportionately affect persons with disabilities. During the same flooding, 12 people with disabilities drowned in Germany. Heatwaves in Spain are correlated with increased deaths of people with disabilities. The list goes on.
Despite this, people with disabilities and their organisations are still largely shut off from the climate conversation.
The United Nations, for example, is still lagging behind in creating a disability constituency for the international climate negotiations, despite continuous calls to act from the disability movement (and the existence of constituencies for other marginalised communities).
Unfortunately, this is compounded by the fact that climate organisations and activists – and many disability advocates – have ignored the impact that climate change and the solutions put in place to mitigate it have on persons with disabilities.
However, this has begun to change.
It is undeniable that policymakers are responsible for involving persons with disabilities in solutions to address climate change. However, the climate and disability movements must present a united front to pressure them.
A good example of how to achieve this can be seen in the advocacy for the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The Directive pushes for renovating and constructing more energy-efficient and, ideally, zero-emission buildings.
At first glance, this law does not relate to disability. However, when renovating or building new buildings, companies and authorities should also guarantee they are accessible to persons with disabilities. If the buildings are not accessible, then people with disabilities will be excluded and forced to live in less sustainable places, suffering even more from the consequences of climate change. Good implementation will mean less waste of resources and a more inclusive society.
This is why the European Disability Forum partnered with the European Climate Foundation to hold trainings and raise awareness about this law – and its impact on disability – to national and local disability advocates. The partnership extends to disability social media influencers, who are sharing the opportunities this law gives with their audiences.
In parallel, the Forum is contacting national policymakers and educating disability activists on who to reach, what terminology to use and how to engage with decision makers working on climate and the green economy. This will ensure disability inclusion passes from paper to reality. Why? Because people with lived experience are the best placed to articulate how the legislation can best include the needs of persons with disabilities. And ensure that cases like those of France do not happen again.
The benefits extend beyond climate change adaptation and mitigation. Fully accessible buildings would make a huge difference in the lives of millions who are essentially trapped at home. Not only a problem in Spain – this happened to me, several times, in Brussels – the supposed ‘heart of Europe’.
The collaboration can be a blueprint for climate and disability activists to act together and ensure initiatives do not exclude marginalised people.
Disability organisations are already proactive. The European Disability Forum monitors developments, tries to be involved in events like the COPs, has joined coalitions like the Climate Action Network, and recommends members to join similar organisations.
But capacity is an issue in this era of polycrisis.
This is why we need climate organisations to consider us: ensure that materials are accessible, reach out to organisations of persons with disabilities, and run recruitment drives focused on disabled climate activists.
Donors and authorities must fund initiatives focusing on disability inclusion in climate action and foster networks and exchanges between the wider human rights movement and the climate movement.
This should extend to all marginalised groups, especially those disproportionately impacted by exclusionary measures for climate change mitigation, such as Roma.
This is a time of increasing attacks on climate and human rights organisations. It’s fundamental that we create strong partnerships and promote an agenda that fights climate change while improving the lives of all marginalised groups. With strong donors by our side.
Nadia Hadad is a Executive Committee member of the European Disability Forum and co-chair of the Board of the European Network on Independent Living. Nadia Hadad has a degree in electromechanical engineer specialising and worked in the fields of water resources engineering, human ecology, and environment coordination for several NGOs and governments around the world.
Nadia Hadad is a Executive Committee member of the European Disability Forum and co-chair of the Board of the European Network on Independent Living. Nadia Hadad has a degree in electromechanical engineer specialising and worked in the fields of water resources engineering, human ecology, and environment coordination for several NGOs and governments around the world.