As climate change becomes a more prevalent topic in the media and a bigger danger to mankind, it’s important to acknowledge the groups that will be disproportionately affected by it.  I read the article Queer and Fighting for Climate Justice in Southeast Asia which focused on a climate activist named Aidil Iman Aidid who at just 24 years old had several experiences with discrimination while trying to pursue his passion of climate activism.  He is Malaysian born and identifies as a gay male, his sexual orientation has resulted unfortunately in his exclusion from several different climate events.  He wanted to bring awareness to the discrimination that members of the LGBTQ+ community face when it comes to climate change.  Although many marginalized groups do not play

a large part in the acceleration of climate change, they will likely be the ones facing the consequences of it most severely.  Queer people for example might be discriminated against by organizations who give aid during climate crises due simply to their sexual orientation.  This forces them to either solve issues on their own or look within their own community for assistance, giving them less options.

Aidid’s analysis of the discrimination he faces brings up two main points that we’ve discussed in class.  It addresses the spread of religion across Southeast Asia and its implications on the perception of people who are not heterosexual and a climate crisis that is arising across the region.  The Southeast Asian diaspora is concentrated with several different religions, specifically Christianity (the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and to a lesser extent, Singapore), Islam (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei) and Buddhism (Thailand and Myanmar).  In recent years, few Southeast Asian countries have put protections in place for the LGBTQ+ community, like Thailand legalizing gay marriage earlier this year.  In the grand scheme of things, the majority of the countries still have work to do in that regard.  In Islamic countries, Sharia Law––a set of Islamic religious laws governing the daily lives of Muslims–– prevents queer people from seeing much progress.  Despite Indonesia and Malaysia’s democratic systems, religion holds a lot of weight in the enforcing of inclusion for this group.  However, the advancements that we’ve seen in countries like Thailand regarding rights for the LGBTQ+ community might serve as an example for others to follow.

In terms of climate change, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand are three of the most vulnerable countries in the world when it comes to climate change disasters.  Southeast Asia has seen increased sea levels along its coasts resulting in severe flooding and ecosystem damage.  Additionally, it has seen more extreme weather from droughts to heatwaves and cyclones.  As the region continues to grow economically and grow as exporters, I wonder if they’ll be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and effectively combat the climate crisis.  If not, we might see more of what Aidid is worried about which is resources to protect from these harsh conditions being kept from certain groups, especially those who are queer.