First Of Its Kind Climate Justice Library Making Climate Literacy Accessible To All
Written by Nikhil Kamath and edited by Wynona Curaming
The climate crisis is a vast topic. Oftentimes, people can find themselves at a loss of resources to learn about a particular topic or an issue. The problem runs two ways. If the resource exists, there is either a lack of awareness about it or the resource itself is inaccessible, due to paywalls (among other reasons). For the purpose of bridging this gap and making climate literacy more accessible to the general public, Youth For Climate India has opened the Climate Justice Library at New Delhi’s South Extension - 2 neighbourhood.
Youth For Climate India mobilises youth across India to make climate justice a priority for people and politics. Starting in January 2020, the group's focus has been to increase access to the climate movement for young people throughout India, either by removing language barriers, creating entry points, or organizing trainings. The team used to organize reading circles in Delhi to engage people from various fields in discussions regarding the environment in the past. By increasing people's access to such resources, they believe they are better able to engage in and understand environmental issues.
“The library will be a collection of literature on environmental justice and intersectional themes, thus being another space for consciousness building and discourse, alongside making knowledge accessible.”
This first of its kind Climate Justice Library in Delhi has around 200 books on topics such as air pollution, water pollution, politics of environmental conservation, ecology, energy and many others. They aim to add as many books as possible on these topics in the library and also add books in multiple languages to make it more accessible for all. The library also organises various sessions and panel discussions on topics related to the environment and climate action.
“Brilliant initiative to help the youth educate themselves on environmental issues with a sweet collection of books, research reports. Also a great place to network with young activists!”
The space for this library is offered by the Centre For Financial Accountability - who work to bring accountability in financial institutions who lend money to development projects - at their office which is located at R–21, Ground Floor, South Extension-2, Delhi – 110049. It is accessible via Delhi Metro and the nearest station is South Extension on the Pink Line. The library is now open for public use on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is free for the public to come and read, and members have the option of borrowing books. It costs Rs. 500 /year to become a member, which allows you to borrow three books a month. Happy reading!
