SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This essay examines the debate over whether states can legitimately use emergency powers to address climate change. The author challenges Lazar and Wallace's arguments against climate authoritarianism, arguing that climate change constitutes a genuine emergency requiring urgent action. While rejecting both purely authoritarian approaches and the status quo of Western liberal democracy, the essay proposes a third way: empowering citizens through targeted activism and climate assemblies. This solution may paradoxically require both more democratic and more authoritarian elements. The author contends that current evidence does not support claims of democratic superiority in climate action, and suggests that radical but principled reform is necessary.