One of the major impediments to progress being made in response to the dire challenges posed by climate change, seems to be our reluctance as human beings to see ourselves as part of nature. In a somewhat refreshing commentary, a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released in February, suggests that major steps forward could be taken if we were to approach the issue from the perspective of social justice. To concern ourselves with fundamental questions about what it means to be human: to appeal to our better selves and to think about nature as well as about our fellow human beings from a connected context of care and empathy, ethics, and morality.
These are matters which our host, Richard Bawden, pursues with his guest in this episode, Dr Stefanie Fishel who is Lecturer in politics, international development, ecology, environmental justice, and law with special interests in climate change and biodiversity. With her broad compass of interests and expertise, it will be of no surprise that this conversation covers an extraordinary diversity of topics. These include relationships between citizens, politicians, and institutions in general, land ownership in Australia, agriculture, social justice, and indigenous ways of knowing, among others.