Written on: October 8, 2018
Last week the Season of Creation ended. For five weeks we saw how climate change is impacting vulnerable communities, intensifying droughts in Pakistan and hurricanes in the Philippines.
But what is causing climate change in the first place?
Extractivism is part of the answer.
Extractivism is a short-sighted model of development that exploits natural resources on a massive scale, creating significant economic profits for a few, but too often resulting in minimal benefits for the communities where these resources are found, destroying the land and polluting the water. Fracking and mineral mining are some examples of extractive industries.
Extractive industries are a major contributor to climate change, since they are responsible for extracting the natural resources, like fossil fuels, whose extraction and consumption release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Climate change is just a symptom of a bigger problem. This week, we invite you to learn more about one of the root causes that makes it possible.