In March 2025 I led two meetings of a Climate and Disability Liberation support group on Zoom. About thirty people attended, representing seven countries on four continents.


As part of our introductions, I invited people to share anything that would make the meeting more accessible for them. This seemingly simple step was a big contradiction for us as people with disabilities.


The following is the talk I gave at both meetings.


NOTHING WRONG WITH US


Disability oppression is very real, and it is often very harsh. The oppression is often forgotten or an afterthought. And it affects everyone, both currently impaired or disabled and currently non-disabled.


Having physical impairments or chronic illness can be a lot of hard work. We have each done wonderfully well figuring out how to live full, rich, connected lives in the face of our physical challenges and disability oppression. We can be completely pleased with ourselves about that.


In contrast to the messages of disability oppression, there is nothing wrong with any of us. We are completely human; just as much as any other human being. We are completely good; just as good as any other human. We are not broken, or useless, or disposable. We have good bodies and good minds. And we have as much to offer to the world as any other human. We don’t deserve to be blamed, isolated, or ignored.


People with disabilities are part of a global human experience. There are at least a billion of us worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. We span every other constituency and identity, including age, class, sex, national heritage, language group, and so on. We have an incredibly diverse variety of life experiences, and as a group, we have a lot of practice thinking flexibly about inclusion. This is a powerful set of understandings that is urgently needed in the world today.


HUMAN INTERDEPENDENCE


David Ruebain, our International Liberation Reference Person for People with Disabilities, talks about our understanding as disabled people of the interdependence of all humans. Isn’t this a great thing to know? It’s a much more useful and accurate direction than either a rigid focus on independence/solo functioning or feeling badly about our needs for assistance.


The climate crisis can be viewed as a failure of humans to understand and respect our interdependence on all the complex systems of our planet. It is a result of human isolation and disconnection. I believe that we, as disabled people, have a big understanding about interdependence to offer to the climate movement and are essential to its success. Can you imagine a successful climate future that doesn’t take us into account? I can’t.


WE BELONG HERE


Thinking about our diversity, it is beautiful that we each bring unique experiences and perspectives. Some of us have been disabled since birth or early childhood. Some of us became disabled later in life. Some of us are only just now becoming impaired, or beginning to face the reality of our disability, and every permutation in between. There’s different work there for each of us.


Some of us have been doing climate work for decades. Some of us for a few years. And some of us are looking for how we can get involved. Wherever you are in your relationship to disability, and wherever you are in your involvement with climate work, you belong here. You are just right, and there are lots of possibilities ahead for you.


Something I’ve learned from climate organizing is that no one idea, group, approach, or action, is going to be enough. We need lots of different perspectives with everyone’s brilliant minds engaged. Including yours. We are all needed. We all have something important we can contribute. No one of us can do everything. But each of us can do something.


Here are questions for our Co-Counseling sessions:


• How does the climate crisis affect you as a person with disability or chronic illness?
• How does disability shape your climate work?