There Is NO Planet B: The Political Making of the Anthropocene

This proposal seeks to investigate how civil society actors in Brazil mobilize around climate change. Our hypothesis is that this phenomenon represents a new ethical-political event, encapsulated in the concept of the Anthropocene, characterized by various contradictions and necessitating a unique form of political action. This manifests in two main dimensions: the emergence of new forms of activism, referred to as climate activism, and the reorganization of traditional social movements that now incorporate climate issues into their agendas.

We will analyze these climate activism movements, focusing on youth in Brazilian urban areas, through five dimensions: their interpretations of climate change; the issue of temporality; their social organization; their relationship with the state; and the construction of alternatives. Additionally, we seek to understand the dialogues and differences between these youth-led activisms and historically organized movements, such as indigenous and labor movements.

Embracing the Anthropocene as a concept and diagnosis is crucial for addressing these dimensions, as it highlights the tension between dominant development models, human-nature relationships, and temporal regimes. The Anthropocene signifies a critical threshold in confronting challenges like global warming, biodiversity loss, and extreme events that define the climate emergency.

Recognizing significant anthropogenic changes threatening life on Earth has profound implications for anthropology, sociology, and politics. The meanings of the Anthropocene and strategies for addressing this crisis are diverse and often contentious. In Brazil, activists are forming networks to create effective climate policies linked to broader issues, including social inequality and the rise of authoritarianism, amid an overarching societal crisis. Understanding this ethical-political landscape shaped by the Anthropocene is our goal.