Klimakrise, Kolonialismus und sozial-ökologische Transformation

Climate Justice now! – The call for climate justice makes it clear that the climate crisis cannot be solved by ecological modernization alone. Criticism of the latter is voiced by climate justice movements that understand climate change not only as an ecological but also as a social crisis. To enable a socio-ecological transformation and a good life for everyone, we argue that the interplay between sociopolitical development and individual educational processes must be considered from a global justice perspective. The focus on changing individual consumption and lifestyles, which has long prevailed in the climate protection debate, has not only led to the depoliticization of sustainability efforts, but it also ignores the impact of post-colonial structures in the (re-)production of global inequalities. The climate crisis is the expression and result of capitalist and colonial relationships of exploitation and power as well as racist structures. Climate protection, global justice and peace are interlinked and thus need to be considered together. This chapter aims to introduce some central terms and concepts that contribute to the understanding of the connections between climate crisis, colonialism, and socio-ecological transformation. Against this background, we first introduce the ecological and sociopolitical foundations of the climate crisis. We then present the UN-Agenda of sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is followed by criticism of the UN-understanding of sustainable development. We use the example of degrowth and sufficiency to show alternative approaches to economic activities within planetary boundaries. We also discuss the role and importance of education in socio-ecological transformation. To address this need, we present the Global Citizenship Education (GCE) approach, which refers to post- and decolonial theories and makes learning about colonial and racist social conditions the starting point for learning for a socio-ecological transformation. To conclude, we give a brief outlook with further research questions and implications for educational practice.