Needs, Politics, and the Climate Crisis

Responding to the unique challenge posed by the climate crisis, several recent commentators have invoked the concept of basic needs. Whilst that concept proves useful in meeting many of the distinctive practical and normative problems posed by climate change, those commentators largely neglect the politics surrounding our needs. This article responds by distinguishing three notionally sequential political moments - the politics behind needs, in specifying needs, and following needs - showing how each of these problematizes any attempt to determine the normative importance of needs outside of the political. I finish by considering the implications for needs-based approaches to the climate crisis.