A photo album. Your grandmother’s recipe book. A family heirloom.
Not long ago, people would casually ask “what’s the first thing you’d save in a house fire?” as an icebreaker. Now, as the climate crisis only becomes more intense, a growing number of people can’t afford to treat this question as hypothetical.
When faced with disaster, people naturally worry about preserving memories, culture, and community. Governments, corporations, and even many humanitarian aid organizations instead center property damage, administrative costs, and the economy. Non-Economic Loss and Damage (NELD) refers to cultural practices, languages, traditional knowledge, and other non-economic resources endangered by the climate crisis.
It’s devastating to imagine losing precious pieces of your personal history in the face of disaster. Now consider how the climate crisis affects whole communities. The rising sea threatens entire ethnic groups and nations. Storms, wildfires, and droughts have the same widespread destructive potential. Extreme weather events threaten to break the bonds that keep communities together.
What’s really at stake in the climate crisis? What memories, knowledge, and cultural practices have already been lost or endangered?
The communities and countries that contribute least to the climate crisis face its most urgent and direct impacts. At UUSC, we believe climate reparations are essential for environmental justice. Nations that have caused and accelerated the climate crisis should be held accountable and make restitution for the harm they’ve perpetuated.
States at most fault should cancel climate crisis-related debts and provide financial compensation. True accountability requires holistic social and psychological support. These states must implement and enforce policies that protect our environment.
When we reckon with the gravity of NELD, climate reparations become an obvious requirement for restorative justice. Our dominant political and social systems prioritize material wealth at the expense of people and our planet. This value both threatens our environment and limits our ability to direct humanitarian aid effectively in the face of climate disaster. Climate reparations offer hope in the form of a new system that prioritizes human dignity, justice, culture, and equity.
Grassroots leaders have been driving the call for climate reparations for many years. UUSC is honored to partner with frontline organizations that advocate for, model, and imagine a future where land, culture, traditional knowledge, and human life are valued over profit and property.
Check out some of their work below:
Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC)
PISFCC began in March 2019 when 27 law students from eight Pacific Island countries launched a campaign to take the issue of climate change to the International Court of Justice. Their work resulted in a landmark ruling declaring that countries have a duty under customary international law to protect the climate. The court decreed that nations who breach that obligation could be held legally accountable to make climate reparations. PISFCC continues to advocate for the application of this legal ruling.
Tulele Peisa
Tulele Peisa was created in response to the Bougainville government’s inaction in addressing climate crisis displacement and migration. Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea, is the primary relocation site for the Carteret Islanders. The organization leads efforts to relocate displaced Carteret Islanders to Bougainville while also providing humanitarian support to families who wish to remain on the Carterets. Tulele Peisa also runs a cultural preservation program, teaching workshops on traditional community skills, crafts, and rituals.
Kioa Island Community Organization (KICO)
The Kioa Island Community Organization addresses four key issues faced by Kioans: climate crisis forced displacement, food security, water security, and women’s historical exclusion from business. Since 2021, KICO has partnered with UUSC to provide Kioans with training in the latest climate-tolerant planting techniques while also working with Kioan women to increase their business skills related to virgin coconut oil production. The organization released the Kioa Climate Emergency Declaration, making specific climate reparation demands of international leaders to ensure a just and dignified future.
If you believe we can build societies that value people over profit, join us and support our Pacific Rising work! Become a member of UUSC by contributing to the essential efforts of our partners. Climate reparations, community care, and true compassion are possible on a global scale. When we support grassroots leaders, we co-create that more just future.
