Disability and climate change – inclusive futures

Disability and climate change – inclusive futures

0961-4524

Development in Practice
25.8.25

English

7 pp.

551 AkGo28

In the context of accelerating climate transitions, the exclusion of Global South leadership and disability rights perspectives from climate and development discourses remains a critical gap. This practice note addresses such exclusion through a dialogical methodology rooted in Pacific cultural traditions of storytelling, specifically Talanoa and Tok Stori. Drawing on a series of semi-structured conversations between Kevin Akike, a disability rights and climate change leader from Papua New Guinea, and Sarah Goulding, a researcher and former DFAT executive, the note foregrounds lived experience as a source of knowledge for shaping inclusive climate adaptation and development practices. By centering Kevin’s voice, the study highlights priorities for disability-inclusive international development, advancing intersectional approaches to climate resilience, livelihoods, and social inclusion in the majority world. The methodology underscores reciprocity, positionality, and power in research, contributing to an emerging practice of intersectionality that elevates practitioner voices while challenging dominant exclusions in climate and disability scholarship. This contribution situates itself within current debates on disability, climate change, and development, reinforcing the call for participatory and inclusive knowledge production as a foundation for effective and just climate action.

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