During the latest edition of Qatar Foundation’s Doha Debates #DearWorldLive program, environmental advocates stated that climate change and pollution affect those of color and in the global south excessively.

Environmental advocates from Uganda, Australia, and the US were featured in the live-streamed program to discuss environmental discrimination.

“Countries in the global south contribute the least to the climate crisis, but they are the most affected by climate change,” said Vanessa Nakate, Ugandan climate justice activist. She explained that stopping discrimination would require people to point out how people of color are unequally affected by it.  She added, “I think if we do not include the issue of environmental racism, then we cannot have the [racial] justice we are looking for.”

There’s Something in The Water, a documentary by American filmmaker Ian Daniel, highlighted the impact of Black and Indigenous communities in Nova Scotia, Canada, and indicated that the communities of color are facing severe reverberations from environmental racism.

“Their families are dying off, they're getting cancer, they're worried about getting cancer. That's compounding the issues that are already happening in these communities – suicide rates are high, alcoholism is high, lack of housing, lack of resources for education,” said Daniel.

He stressed the need for everyone’s support to find a solution as this is a disease that has become a large threat to our society. Patsy Islam-Parsons, a 19-year-old Bangladeshi-Australian student who leads Sydney’s #FridaysforFuture climate change protest movement, said the Australian government is among those at fault for environmental racism.

“My country and my government are certainly an enormous part of the problem, and I think that gives me an enormous responsibility to be putting pressure on my government and telling them that what they're doing is not good enough.”

The live event pointed out the importance and need for individuals at home to educate themselves and join the fight against environmental racism. According to Daniel, “If you're not from the community, the main thing is to learn from the community and let the community drive the conversation, and then they'll inform you how you can amplify their voice.”

With viewers from Brazil, the US, Turkey, Spain, and the Philippines, the live-stream witnessed almost half a million views around the world. The next racial justice-focused #DearWorldLive program will look at art as protest, how to be an ally and healthcare.

Qatar Foundation’s Doha debates can be viewed on their Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube channel, and at DohaDebates.com/DearWorldLive.

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