The case for an environmental labor geography

Keywords: labor agency, labor geography, climate change, conversion, trade union
Abstract Type: Virtual Paper Abstract

Abstract

Recently, geographers have increasingly contributed to the labor-environment nexus, albeit not under a unified field. This article proposes to develop a common field–environmental labor geography– that has as its main focus the aforementioned nexus. I propose that a new field should draw from labor geography's analytical tools and theoretical framework. As a political project from the left and a worker-centered project, labor geography provides an important basis for an environmental labor geography. Albeit not delimiting the field only to climate change I argue for a strong focus on the crisis. Building working-class mass movements will be key to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a just transition. Thus, I argue that the labor agency concept needs to be restricted to collective and organized expressions of worker agency under a changing climate. This allows geographers to derive lessons and generalizations that can strategically contribute to practices on the ground seeking to build mass movements conducive to a classless ecological future. Finally, I present a so-far overlooked topic as an example of what environmental labor geography can explore. I analyze past conversion efforts from military to civilian production and how past research and cases can provide new insights into current conversion debates prompted by the climate crisis.