Communities and Climate Change: Why Practices and Practitioners Matter

Communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are intimately tied to a considerable amount of cultural and biological diversity. Much of that diversity is bound up in the social practices of Indigenous groups, which is why these practices have great long-term value. Yet, little attention has been given to them by philosophers. Also neglected have been the historical conditions and contemporary realities that constrain these practices and devalue the knowledge of their practitioners. In this essay, we make the case for preserving a diverse range of social practices worldwide, and that this is possible only by strengthening the communities of practitioners who enact them in the contexts in which they are adaptive. Focusing on practices can transform how Indigenous and other local communities are represented in global climate-change conversations and policy as a matter of justice. Practice-centered thinking and local practices provide critical insights for determining the extent to which climate policies protect and enable transformative change.