Epistemic Justice in Environmental Decision-Making

Sor Juana's letters and responses to critics demonstrate how intellectual authority is granted or withheld based on social position, not merit. Epistemic justice in environmental decision-making means recognizing and correcting the systematic devaluing of certain voices in climate science and policy. For centuries, Western industrial nations have imposed their knowledge systems while dismissing indigenous, feminist, and Global South perspectives on environmental stewardship. Climate solutions designed without the input of those whose knowledge systems sustained ecosystems for millennia often fail or cause new harms. Sor Juana's insistence on rigorous intellectual engagement applies here: climate governance must actively solicit, credit, and implement knowledge from indigenous scientists, traditional ecological practitioners, and community researchers. This isn't tokenism but structural change in who holds authority to speak about climate futures. Epistemic justice demands that global climate agreements recognize indigenous land management as legitimate science, that women's agricultural knowledge is documented and valued, and that colonized nations' environmental expertise shapes international policy. True climate responsibility requires epistemological decolonization.