Digital rights & climate justice: mapping existing connections & opportunities for the future (EN)
2022-10-01 , DELPHI
Language: English

In this session, The Engine Room will share research findings from a landscape review conducted in 2021-2022 exploring intersections between digital rights, climate & environmental justice. Research Lead Becky Kazansky will discuss learnings from practitioners working across these issues, honing in on the opportunities that exist for increased collaboration across sectors.


As the effects of the ongoing climate emergency amplify, the fight for environmental & climate justice has become more crucial than ever. While technology is being used to support these efforts, it can also be part of the problem: technological innovation is taking an environmental toll, climate justice activists face increasing digital attacks, social media platforms are full of unfounded claims about climate change, and many of the communities affected the most by the climate emergency continue to lack basic access to digital resources that are needed to adapt to, and mitigate effects of, the climate crisis, from Internet access to reliable online information in their own language & cultural context. In response to these issues, The Engine Room recently undertook a research project exploring intersections between environmental/climate justice and digital rights movements, with an eye on identifying opportunities for increased collaboration and support. Doing this research allowed us to interview and learn from a highly diverse group of practitioners working across these issues from around the world. In this session, the Lead Researcher on the project (Becky Kazansky) will share the main findings of the research.

Check out the report here: https://www.theengineroom.org/new-report-at-the-confluence-of-digital-rights-climate-justice/

Becky Kazansky is Research Lead at The Engine Room, an international nonprofit organization focused on understanding how tech and data can support social justice. Becky has a PhD in media studies and political science from the University of Amsterdam. She's been working to advance data justice with civil society organisations for the last 14 years.