The case for an environmental labor geography: The role of organized labor in the climate crisis

Abstract

Geographers have increasingly studied labor and climate change, albeit not in a unitary field. I propose to address this by outlining an environmental labor geography – that draws from labor geography’s tenets. Moreover, I agree with other scholars that organized worker-led mass movements will be key to solving the climate crisis. Thus, I argue that labor agency is a useful tool that centers workers’ actions. However, to derive useful generalizations for struggles on the ground, the concept should be delimited to organized expressions of agency. Finally, I examine past and present conversion debates as cases of interest in ELG.