Rethinking the Anthropocene: Political Economy and the North–South Climate Divide

Abstract

The concept of the Anthropocene frames climate change as the cumulative outcome of human activity, suggesting a shared and universal responsibility for planetary degradation. However, this universal framing risks obscuring the historically uneven structures of power, production, and consumption that have shaped the climate crisis. This paper critically re-examines the Anthropocene through a political economy lens, arguing that the climate emergency is not simply the result of “humanity” as a whole, but of a historically specific model of industrial capitalism concentrated in the Global North. By interrogating patterns of historical carbon emissions, industrial expansion, resource extraction, and global trade asymmetries, the study demonstrates how environmental degradation has been structurally embedded within unequal North–South economic relations.