Author: Alessia Palladino, Research Assistant, Protecting the Right to Culture of Persons wih Disabilities and Enhancing Cultural Diversity in EU Law: Exploring New Paths (DANCING), ALL Institute and School of Law & Criminology, Maynooth University
The recent publication of the Global Disability Inclusion Report (hereafter the Report) by the International Disability Alliance (IDA) presents interesting developments on the impact of global trends of the rights of persons with disabilities, many of which (such as digital technology, climate change or the care economy) are at the core of ALL research and mission. This blog post aims to reflect in particular on the intersection of environmental and disability law, fields which I have been researching on, specifically from an European perspective, since the start of my time in the DANCING project.
In line with previous research, the Report highlights how structural disadvantages faced by persons with disabilities (including, but not limited to, higher poverty rates, more difficult access to the job market, higher barriers in accessing public services and increased intersectional inequalities) are worsened by climate change. While recognising that the consequences of climate change impact almost all aspects of life for everyone and have particularly negative consequences for persons with disabilities, this blog post highlights that climate change amplifies already existing barriers that persons with disabilities face when participating in culture. Indeed, among the different sectors in which persons with disabilities face barriers and discriminations there is also the cultural one, both as audiences and as artists. These barriers span from lack of accessibility measures to lack of adequate and effective laws and policies, and they include negative attitudes towards persons with disabilities (ableism) and lack of consultation of persons with disabilities or their representatives. The DANCING project investigated these barriers in several outputs.
The Report highlights how climate change will reduce persons with disabilities’ engagement in daily life activities by worsening their access to the built environment, in both direct and indirect ways. Indeed, the report underlines how ‘increased rainfall and flooding can amplify transportation and environmental barriers, making commuting and moving more difficult’. Physical accessibility is one of the barriers that persons with disabilities already face when exercising their right to access culture. The additional obstacles introduced by climate change can make reaching a cultural venue even more difficult and daunting, for both artists and audiences. In cases of extreme weather events causing flooding, accessibility of cultural venues may become an afterthought. In fact, one of the adopted solutions envisioned is to elevate buildings, and if this is done without due consideration for accessibility needs of people with mobility impairments, it may create additional barriers to accessing cultural venues.
The Report also contends that ‘it is estimated that people will lose the equivalent of 9 days of work in high-income and 19 days in low- and middle-income countries per year, if global surface temperatures increase by 1.5°C’. It is worth noting, at the same time, that other sources have already reported that the +1.5 ºC above the pre-industrial temperatures threshold, has been reached, therefore these consequences are expected to materialise in the short term. Interestingly for this paper, the Report also indicates that persons with disabilities are more affected by both air pollution, heat and other climate hazards worsened by climate change, and this will impact their ability of working. This will ultimately lead to a rise in poverty and further restrict the possibility to engage in culture.
The Report further explains that climate change will increase the need for care and support provided by personal assistants. For example, the report highlights that it might be necessary for the personal assistant to ensure that persons with disabilities are protected from climate hazards, that they seek healthcare and other services for climate-related health impacts and that they navigate and rebuild environments made inaccessible by climate hazards. Increased demand for personal assistance may lead to prioritisation of assistance in fields other than culture, which is already (and wrongly so) perceived as a luxury.
To conclude, the publication of the Report reminds us that persons with disabilities will experience amplified negative consequences of climate change in all aspects of life if compared to people without disabilities. This topic is of particular relevance given that some aspects of climate change are already materialising, with impactful results to the lives of many. While the Report does not specifically mention access to culture, it is important to point to the hidden impact of climate change on the right to culture of persons with disabilities, given that the right to participate in cultural life is granted by a variety of international sources (including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and UN Convention on the Rights Persons with Disabilities) and that people with disabilities already face relevant barriers hindering the full enjoyment of this right.
Blog author, Alessia Palladino
