Ecofascism
Photo credit: Grist
Climate change and global warming pose an imminent threat to the future of humanity and planet Earth. But in this fight against climate change, far-right activists, often referred to as eco-fascists, have theorized and adopted new “environmental” policies that are both dangerous and unproductive in the fight against climate change. As described by VICE’s Mack Lamoureux, eco-fascists “blame the demise of the environment on overpopulation, immigration, and over-industrialization.”
Eco-fascists often blame immigrants and people of color (POC) from the global south (Africa, Latin America, and developing countries in Asia) for the rise in carbon emissions. As an example, in the United Kingdom, a far–right group named the Hundred-Handers put up stickers all over the UK making comments such as “third world overbreeding destroys the planet.” Undoubtedly, eco-fascists hold views that emphasize nationalism and white supremacy which aren’t necessary or beneficial in the fight against climate change.
Eco-fascism has its roots much earlier than one might suspect. Environmental activism has been intertwined with far-right ideology since the mid-1800s. The German zoologist Ernst Haeckel, a social Darwinist, and ardent racist, first coined the term “ecology” in the mid-1800s. His ideas would then move to inspire Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist movement. Continuing in the 20th century, eco-fascist thought flourished, especially under the work of Madison Grant. Grant is often credited as a founder of modern wildlife management and helped create many national parks in the US, such as the Glacier National Park, and Everglades National Park. However, he was a fervent racist, who wrote The Passing of the Great Race, which claimed that the superior Nordics were the only “race fit to rule the earth.” His book and his work as a conservationist and eugenicist would help create the foundations of Nazi ideology; Hitler described Grant’s book as “his bible.” Grant’s work has also been cited by many ultra-right figures in the 21st century, such as Richard Spencer.
Much of eco-fascist theory has its roots in Nazism and fascism in the 1900s. The Nazi settler-colonist concept of Lebensraum, or “living space,” is similar to eco-fascist ideals today. The Nazis used the concept of Lebensraum to justify expanding into other territories. This is similar to modern eco-fascist theories, namely eco-fascists beliefs in ultranationalism and ethnopluralism. On top of this, modern eco-fascists often embrace the Nazi slogan “blood and soil,” which means establishing a mystical connection with their native country and making it their responsibility to look after it. When applied to the context of ecology and environmentalism, eco-fascists make it their responsibility to “take care of their land” by clearing it of immigrants, as they believe immigrants and POC are responsible for the massive strain on natural resources.
Eco-fascist thought is heavily intertwined with the far-right discourse on the theory of the “Great Replacement” which states that welcoming immigrants, specifically nonwhite and Jewish immigrants, is a plan to replace or weaken the political power and culture of the white race in European and North American nations. It has been referenced in the manifestos written by mass shooters responsible for attacks like the Christchurch shooting in 2019 as well as the Buffalo shooting in 2022. This theory is often used as a justification for hate and violence against POC and immigrants done by eco-fascists.
Eco-fascists also believe that the only way to preserve life on Earth is to dramatically reduce the human population. As a result, eco-fascists use POC and migrants as the scapegoat for the nation’s environmental problems and instability. A popular far-right meme and neo-Nazi website, The Daily Stormer, often uses the phrase “save trees, not refugees.” Another instance of scapegoating done by eco-fascists is that they blame poor POC and refugees for using single-use plastics like plastic bags and utensils and littering, accusing them of polluting the planet. What they fail to realize is that the majority of the degradation of the environment done is by corporations and the richest 10% who have little regard for the environment, rather than poor POC who have no other choice but to use disposable plastics and products. Evidently, eco-fascists don’t really care for the environment; they care more about white nationalism and keeping their nation “pure” of any immigrants or marginalized communities. As the progressive author Naomi Klein said, “Eco-fascism argues [climate change] is God’s will, [...] so there’s going to be a great purge and perhaps that’s all for the best. It’s environmentalism through genocide.” Klein’s quote underscores how eco-fascists solely blame the marginalized for environmental problems and act on their bigotry under the premise of “taking care” of the environment.
Another common argument seen often in mainstream media is the myth of overpopulation. Overpopulation is a very common and overstated problem. As it suggests in the name, overpopulation is the belief that the growing human population is accelerating climate change and the climate crisis. According to Leanne McNulty, this theory is incorrect as it insinuates that every person on the planet has the same effect on carbon emissions, meaning that the more people there are, the more emissions you have. If this were true, countries with the highest populations would have the highest emissions. However, countries with smaller populations like Russia and Japan produce less emissions than countries with larger populations like Indonesia and Pakistan. To further disprove the overpopulation myth, wealthier nations and wealthier people generally produce much higher emissions than poorer nations and people. Oxfam, an international NGO fighting against poverty, reported that a person in the world's richest 1% consumes 175 times more carbon than some of the bottom 10% combined.
Overpopulation is a dangerous myth as it indicates that the only way to save the planet is to control and reduce the size of the population. This idea is vehemently embraced by eco-fascists, who want to control the population of POC and poor marginalized groups. Other proponents include wealthy, white people who shift the blame for their negative environmental impacts onto marginalized groups. George Monbiot, an environmental activist and writer for The Guardian, has said the overpopulation theory is “inherently racist.”
Continuing on, eco-fascism promotes violence and dangerous misconceptions. Eco-fascism has been linked to many big white supremacist terror attacks over the past couple of years. Many mass shootings such as the recent Buffalo supermarket shooting or the El Paso shooting in 2019 have been motivated by eco-fascist ideals. In the Buffalo supermarket shooting, a gunman attacked a supermarket in a predominantly Black area of Buffalo, New York, shooting and killing only Black people. To justify his deeds, he used pro-environment arguments to defend anti-immigrant beliefs. He has also been suspected of writing a 180-page-long manifesto that linked environmental degradation and cultural erasure to immigration.
The Buffalo shooting has fairly similar motivations to the Christchurch shooter in 2019, often referred to as a “copycat attack.” The Christchurch shooter wrote in his manifesto: “Kill the invaders, kill the overpopulation and by doing so save the environment.” He’s also a self-proclaimed “eco-fascist,” and has described immigration as “environmental warfare.” As seen in many recent mass shootings, terrorists and white supremacists have used the environment as an excuse for acting on their extremist thoughts and bigotry. When eco-fascist thought is embraced, it enables people to commit unthinkable and vile acts.
Eco-fascism is becoming more prominent in mainstream media. Popular Republicans such as Fox News’ Tucker Carlson promote eco-fascist rhetoric. He once said, “I actually hate litter, which is one of the reasons I’m so against illegal immigration.” This is common eco-fascist thought, blaming immigrants for problems so ordinary and inexplicit to a certain race or group. As eco-fascism becomes more popular among right-wing groups, it radicalizes people and creates an environment that allows them to use hateful and harmful language. Eco-fascism is insidious; when the ideology is perpetuated by big figures, it will only fuel more hatred and separate populations.
As climate change worsens, eco-fascism will grow. Climate change requires action, and when governments and institutions don’t do anything to minimize it, it will promote extreme solutions to combat it. Eco-fascism isn’t an ideology that intrinsically promotes the well-being of the environment; it embraces white supremacy more than it does environmentalism. Because of this, eco-fascism has no place in the fight against climate change. It is an ideology that shifts the blame to POC and immigrants and only fuels hatred and racism.