People with disabilities have been excluded from national plans and responses to climate change, leaving them more vulnerable to heat waves, natural disasters, and environmental hazards from public housing. We spoke with Michael Stein, co-founder of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, to learn more about how to create inclusive climate solutions for people with disabilities by including them into the conversation about climate challenges they face. For a transcript, please visit solutions https://climatebreak.org/disability-inclusive-climate-solutions-with-michael-stein/.
People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by climate change; however, they have been traditionally excluded from conversations about national plans and responses to climate change. Including the disabled community in decision making is key to addressing potential harms and designing effective, inclusive solutions.
Many studies provide empirical evidence that climate change poses a particularly great risk for the disabled community. A study in Australia documented that between 2001 and 2018, 89% of heat wave fatalities were people with some type of disability, and actually many had multiple disabilities both physical and mental. Additionally, after Hurricane Harvey in Harris County, Texas in 2017, people with disabilities were disproportionately affected and exposed to harms. Areas flooded by Hurricane Harvey were overrepresented by disabled populations. The highest proportion of people living in public housing being exposed to environmental hazards were people with disabilities.
While people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, they have often been excluded from decision-making surrounding climate change, including in drafting national plans and climate responses.
Engaging people with disabilities in developing, designing and implementing climate resilient solutions can help protect their livelihoods and autonomy. Meaningful participation can look different in many ways including conducting research to have more data on how people with disabilities are affected and specific ways to help. As well, to develop new technologies and innovations that assist people with disabilities in climate emergencies like early warning systems, communication, and adaptive infrastructure. Spaces can be more inclusive and accessible to people with disabilities. More research is needed on infrastructure design that both reduces emissions and simultaneously will not put disabled people at more risk in climate emergencies, for example, adding ramps and automatic door openers, widening doorways, and having accessible bathrooms. It is also important to host public events in accessible locations to ensure that people with disabilities feel welcomed and valued. Methods of communication should also be accessible like using captions in videos, adding text descriptions and making online materials that work with screen readers so that low vision individuals can also access them.
In addition to educating the community about the importance of disability-inclusive climate solutions and for the disabled community to be educated and equipped for climate disaster risk mitigation, it is vital for the disabled community to be part of the large-scale decision making process and promote meaningful participation. By providing people with disabilities with a greater understanding of the impacts that climate change will have on their lives, then they can be more able to respond to effects of climate change and access the resources they need. Expert Dr. Michael Stein points out that everyone knows their own needs and livelihoods best; hence, it is vital to reach out to the disabled community and include them in the conversation and decision making for climate solutions that will support the disabled community who are disproportionately affected by the effects of climate change.
Michael Stein is the co-founder of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability. As a world leader on disability law, Dr. Stein participated in the drafting of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Dr. Stein became the first known person with a disability to be a member of the Harvard Law Review. He has received numerous awards in recognition of his work in disability rights.
For a transcript of this episode, please visit https://climatebreak.org/disability-inclusive-climate-solutions-with-michael-stein/.
Ethan: I’m Ethan Elkind, and this is Climate Break. Climate solutions in a hurry. Today’s proposal, designing climate solutions that include input from people with disabilities. Michael Stein, co-founder of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, explains how people with disabilities have traditionally been excluded from conversations around climate change.
Dr. Stein: The exclusion of people with disabilities begins from the beginning, meaning that they're excluded from national plans and responses to climate change.
Ethan: Yet climate change poses a particular risk for this community.
Dr. Stein: People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by climate change. We can point to specific empirical evidence like a study in Australia that between 2001 and 2018, 89 percent of heat wave fatalities, uh, were people with one or more disabilities. Or we can look closer to home after Hurricane Harvey in Harris County, Texas, where the highest proportion of people living in public housing being exposed to environmental hazards were people with disabilities, and we can raise lots of other unpleasant statistics.
Ethan: But Stein says we can address these potential harms by including the disabled community in decision making.
Dr. Stein: I would say the same thing for people with disabilities as for any other marginalized population, and that is consult with them, reach out to them. People all know their lives, needs, and priorities better than anybody else. The aphorism of the international disability rights movement is nothing about us without us.
Ethan: You can learn more about disability-inclusive climate solutions at climatebreak.org.