For a Latin American Political Ecology of Climate (Im)mobilities

Research on the climate change-human mobility nexus remains largely dominated by agendas shaped by the Global North, leading to power inequalities in practices, policies, and knowledge. Critical scholarship has identified political ecology as a valuable framework for addressing these problems. In this paper, we argue that Latin American Political Ecology (LAPE) provides unique insights for addressing this challenge. Drawing on four case studies from the Andes and the Amazon, we explore how LAPE can inform a research agenda on climate (im)mobilities. We identify three areas in which this convergence could be particularly fruitful: the implications of climate (im)mobilities for food sovereignty; the more-than-human character of the communities affected by climate-related hazards; and the role of extractivism in shaping climate (im)mobility in rural areas. We also highlight the prevalence of coloniality of knowledge in climate (im)mobilities governance, reflecting on the positionality of the climate (im)mobilities researchers.