At the intersection of escalating environmental challenges and rapid digital transformation in the Asia-Pacific region lies a critical opportunity for action. The Asia-Pacific Digital Climate Justice Research Project by EngageMedia is a comprehensive three-year initiative examining how the advancement of digital technologies impacts climate justice across the region.
Where digital rights meet climate justice
As communities face increasingly severe climate impacts, digital technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for environmental monitoring, advocacy and crisis response. However, these same technologies also introduce new vulnerabilities, particularly for environmental rights defenders and marginalised communities.
This project aims to address this complex interplay by focusing on several key challenges:
- Digital security threats faced by environmental activists, who increasingly rely on digital tools but face sophisticated online threats and cyber attacks
- Information control policies that restrict access to environmental data and hinder effective cross-border environmental governance
- Climate-induced digital vulnerability, where disasters disrupt digital connectivity precisely when communities need it most
- Environmental misinformation that undermines climate advocacy efforts and public understanding
- Digital sovereignty policies that complicate vital cross-border collaboration on environmental issues
- Potential of free and open source software in promoting sustainable digital practices and enhancing climate preparedness
As the climate crisis intensifies, environmental rights defenders increasingly depend on digital tools to advocate change and mobilise communities. However, digital spaces can expose them to surveillance, cyber attacks, and restrictive data policies that hinder their work.
Without critical examination of how these systems interact, we risk perpetuating existing inequalities and creating new vulnerabilities. This research project seeks to address these interconnected challenges through an environmental justice lens, recognising that those least responsible for climate change often bear its heaviest digital consequences.
Our advocacy research focus
The programme centres on three interconnected areas:
- Empowering environmental rights defenders by strengthening their digital resilience against evolving cyber threats, improving secure communication practices, and countering disinformation campaigns that target environmental advocacy
- Democratising environmental information ecosystem by examining information control regimes and exploring frameworks that balance national sovereignty concerns with the urgent need for open access to climate data
- Climate-proofing digital infrastructure by evaluating how climate-induced disasters impact connectivity and developing solutions that combine traditional knowledge with appropriate technology
Through ethnographic observations, comparative analyses, and case-based research, we will examine the lived experiences of environmental defenders, varying approaches to environmental information control, digital security practices, and the impact of climate disasters on digital infrastructure.
The project will engage deeply with local experiences and expertise across the Asia-Pacific region, emphasising participatory research methods and collaboration with environmental rights defenders, civil society, tech communities, and policymakers. By grounding our analysis in real-world contexts, we aim to generate actionable insights and practical solutions tailored to regional needs. The research prioritises solutions that ensure digital systems serve rather than displace vulnerable populations.
Building equitable and sustainable digital futures
This advocacy research project will cover the complex relationship between digital technologies and climate justice in Asia-Pacific. Our findings will inform evidence-based strategies and policy recommendations aimed at creating more equitable and sustainable digital futures.
By focusing on the specific contexts and challenges within the Asia-Pacific region, we aim to contribute meaningful insights that reflect the diversity of experiences across different communities and countries. EngageMedia invites researchers, environmental activists, digital rights advocates, policymakers and concerned citizens to engage with this work as it develops.
For more information, email [email protected].
