Global histories of empire and climate in the Anthropocene

Abstract

The scientific consensus on the causes of climate change has galvanised global history in the Anthropocene. Within this expanding subfield, however, many historians have afforded imperialism too little explanatory power. This reticence is partly attributable to the intellectual formation of the discipline itself, which long severed human from natural history. It is also due to the paleo‐biological scale of climate change and the related propagation of ‘species history’ by Dipesh Chakrabarty. Obscuring global asymmetries in responsibility for climate change, this approach has deflected attention from the intersections of imperialism and environmental degradation. This article surveys the historiography and methodological challenges of climate change, Chakrabarty's influence on Anthropocene scholarship, and critical responses by global historians. It also summarises recent global histories which have closely analysed the interconnections between empire and climate change, indicating a tipping point in global environmental historiography. These studies reveal intimate, necessarily longue durée linkages between the industrialisation, fossil‐fuel combustion, and exploitative socio‐political structures underpinning both imperialism and climate change.

Students' historicisation of the environmental crisis: A narrative of industrialisation, ignorance and greed

“…More critically, there are divides regarding the message of the Anthropocene story that feeds into the decadesold debate regarding system-immanent solutions -i.e., ecological modernisation -versus system change. For example, it can be interpreted both as a lesson of humility and vulnerability and about human exceptionalism and power (Bonneuil, 2015;Fagan, 2023;Fressoz, 2015;Gattey, 2021;Hamilton, 2017;Lövbrand et al, 2015;Simon, 2020).…”

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“…More critically, there are divides regarding the message of the Anthropocene story that feeds into the decadesold debate regarding system-immanent solutions -i.e., ecological modernisation -versus system change. For example, it can be interpreted both as a lesson of humility and vulnerability and about human exceptionalism and power (Bonneuil, 2015;Fagan, 2023;Fressoz, 2015;Gattey, 2021;Hamilton, 2017;Lövbrand et al, 2015;Simon, 2020).…”

Anthropocene Narratives of Living with Resource Extraction in Africa

“…These colonial and capitalist dynamics, as historian Emma Gattey points out, have enduringly shaped the uneven distribution of the "impacts of climate change and coping mechanisms in the Anthropocene." 57 As the three vignettes suggest, "the social, cultural, and political experiences" of the Anthropocene differ radically. 58 Histories of colonialism and capitalism indeed play a crucial role in shaping Anthropocene experiences in Mufulira, Johannesburg, and Port Harcourt.…”