On Global Environmental Citizenship in the Context of the Anthropocene and the Deepening Environmental Crisis

Abstract

The Anthropocene period has brought an unprecedented expansion of civilisation and enormous technological advances leading to a highly interconnected world. However, all this has come at the expense of the environment. The exploitation of nature along with the reckless and predatory life of humans have gradually led to the emergence of a global environmental crisis which, even with all the means and decades of efforts of the world community, has not been solved or even necessarily mitigated. The paper seeks to highlight and examine the significance of the emerging concept of environmental citizenship in the context of Anthropocene and the deepening environmental crisis, building on the fundamental features of classical citizenship, mainly its unifying potential, which led to the rise of its global dimensions. The emphasis is also partially focused on environmental political responsibility, which is in line with our core concept. Findings point to the growing potential of environmental citizenship to avoid the catastrophic predictions based on maintaining the current status. We argue that environmental citizenship should be seen as a possible basis for a necessary change in the organisation of society, which inevitably requires an active political approach.