The Right to Know: Climate Truth and Epistemic Justice

Sor Juana's fundamental claim was that intellectual development was a human right and pathway to freedom. Translated to climate justice, this means that all people deserve genuine access to climate science, not simplified talking points controlled by governments or corporations. Epistemic justice recognizes that Indigenous communities have accumulated centuries of ecological knowledge that Western science often dismisses. This concept demands platforms where local communities can contribute observations about changing weather patterns, ecosystem shifts, and traditional adaptation strategies. It rejects paternalistic models where experts tell communities what to do without dialogue. Sor Juana's intellectual autobiography modeled how claiming the right to think critically becomes an act of liberation. Applied globally, communities must participate as knowledge creators in climate solutions, not passive recipients of externally-determined policies that ignore local wisdom and autonomy.