Kiribati: self-determination in the climate-colonial nexus

Abstract

It is no coincidence that frequently the countries most vulnerable to climate change inundation are former colonies. The Republic of Kiribati epitomises the climate-colonial nexus: a low-lying island state with a history of British colonial exploitation exacerbating its present (and future) climate vulnerabilities. In actively tracing the colonial power structures and recognising the existence of colonial legacies in the present, the decolonisation of human rights becomes a precondition for an appropriate and just response to climate change. Through connecting colonialism, climate change and human rights, this study focuses on the decolonisation of the right to self-determination and its socio-spatial fulfilment. Using the example of Kiribati, this timely study aims to initiate an intersectional approach to climate justice through understanding climate vulnerability as connected to historical systems of oppression, and centralising the self-determination of the climate(-colonial) vulnerable.