Disaster Capitalism and Climate Justice in the Caribbean

Disaster capitalism arises when private interests and market logics exploit the aftermath of hurricanes, earthquakes and other extreme events in the Caribbean, deepening existing inequalities. Commercialisation of reconstruction contracts, deregulation of environmental safeguards and privatisation of essential services combine to shape a political economy that benefits multinational corporations while marginalising vulnerable communities. At the same time, climate justice movements in the region highlight historical responsibilities, demand reparatory measures and advocate for equitable adaptation strategies. They underscore the colonial legacies that have rendered island states disproportionately exposed to climate-related hazards and stress the imperative of treating resilience building as a matter of global equity rather than mere risk management. Grassroots organisations, Indigenous groups and small island developing states collaborate to contest extractivist development pathways, propose community-driven renewable energy solutions and assert claims for climate debt owed by major emitters. These struggles link local protests against fossil fuel infrastructures, land-use conflicts and state-imposed emergency regimes to broader demands for social and ecological rights. By centring lived experiences of displacement, food insecurity and energy precarity, research in this field illuminates how capitalist interests can both drive and intensify disaster-related harms, even as activists and scholars advance frameworks for just transition and reparative justice.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Disaster Capitalism and Climate Justice in the Caribbean publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in disaster capitalism and climate justice in the caribbean across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Disaster capitalism: The exploitation of crises by private actors for profit, often leading to deregulation, privatisation and reduced community control.

Climate justice: A framework that links human rights and development to address the unequal burdens of climate change and hold major emitters accountable.

Extractivism: A development model based on large-scale removal of natural resources for export, frequently associated with environmental degradation and social displacement.

Racial capitalism: An analytical lens that examines how racial hierarchies and economic exploitation co-produce systems of inequality and accumulation.

Slow violence: Gradual, often invisible environmental harm that disproportionately affects marginalised communities over extended periods of time.

References

1. ‘1.5°C to stay alive’: climate change, imperialism and justice for the Caribbean. Third World Quarterly (2017).
2. Energy Colonialism Powers the Ongoing Unnatural Disaster in Puerto Rico. Frontiers in Communication (2018).
3. “La justicia ambiental es para ti y para mí”: Translating Collective Struggles for Environmental and Energy Justice in Puerto Rico’s Jobos Bay Communities. Frontiers in Communication (2021).