The politics of climate change in the Caribbean longue durée, 18th century to present

The politics of climate change in the Caribbean longue durée, 18th century to present, by Dr. J. Brent Crosson (The University of Texas, Austin).

This paper examines the longer history of climate change mitigation in the 18th-century Caribbean to understand some of the complexities of contemporary environmental protection in the region.  

I suggest that this genealogy of anthropogenic climate change in the Caribbean longue durée reveals some enduring contradictions, including 1) the protection of nature to market the Caribbean as a site for rejuvenation of the white body, 2) the mobilization of nature to morally rebrand extractive industries, and 3) the funding of climate change mitigation by entities engaged in changing the climate. 

Brent Crosson is Associate Professor at UT Austin. In 2024-5, he was a Fulbright Scholar affiliated with the University of the West Indies-St. Augustine (Trinidad). His current research project--The Caribbean Anthropocene--focuses on climate change, religion, migration, and conceptions of energy, 1700-present.