In Guyana, Climate Justice Is Queer Justice

Guyana, “land of many waters,” has long been considered a global leader in fighting climate change. With most of the country covered by pristine Amazon rainforest and one of the lowest deforestation rates, Guyana can brag about being among a handful of countries that are net carbon sinks. The right to a healthy environment is even explicitly written in its constitution.

While Guyana has formal protections for nature, it’s the only country on the South American continent with a colonial-era law criminalizing same-sex intimacy. It only targets men and is rarely enforced, but the broader queer community feels the law’s impacts in everything from harassment to health care discrimination.

These existing challenges will only be amplified as Guyana gets hotter, the fires burn bigger, and the rain falls harder. Further complicating the narrative is the arrival of ExxonMobil, which started offshore drilling six years ago.

As Guyana attempts to balance development and environment, the queer community is ensuring it doesn't get left behind. Through grassroots initiatives and everyday acts of resistance, a growing movement of queer people is drawing from their struggles to offer a blueprint of persistence, perseverance, and joy in the face of the climate crisis.