Paper Short Abstract:

The paper analyses "competing urgencies" in the field of climate justice, highlighting how hegemonic urgencies are prioritised over marginalised groups' needs. Using the EU-Mission 100 as a case, it examines the linkage between urgency claims and legitimacy.

Paper Abstract:

Anthropogenic climate change is a global crisis that calls for urgent action. Yet its urgency stands in, often fierce, opposition to other existing urgencies on the national and local level, such as financial constraints or political cleavages, with each claiming priority of what they deem worthy and needing protection. Politically powerful actors have established hegemonic legitimate urgencies, while others remain invisible and voiceless, mirroring existing social power relations. The urgencies of marginalised and vulnerable social groups, in particular, are being delegitimised, un- and overwritten.

Taking the translation of the concepts of climate neutrality politics and climate justice in the EU-Mission 100 as a point of departure, the paper introduces the concept of “competing urgencies” as a framework for a fruitful analysis of frictions and the negotiation of priorities in a setting characterised by inequalities and power. Analysing competing urgencies and urgency politics from the vantage point of the reference object of urgency allows us to observe how the legitimacy of urgency claims is argued, produced, and justified. Thus, the paper is a theoretical reflection on how competing urgencies potentially unwrite, rewrite, overwrite, and underline legitimacy.