Never Trust a COP - The Epistemic Costs of Grassroots Activists and Communities engaging with UN Climate Institutions

Though much attention is given to UN climate institutions, the perspective of participants from the climate movement in UN climate spaces is under-explored. This paper argues that grassroots groups and communities, such as climate activists, indigenous communities, and climate scientists, face vast epistemic costs at UN climate institutions such as COPs. These activists and groups are subject to epistemic exploitation, elite capture, and undermining propaganda. These costs are obscured by the hermeneutic injustice making it difficult for activists to understand their own experiences, and are sometimes so high that they outweigh any potential benefits of participating UN climate spaces, and should be carefully weighed by any group considering to engage with UN climate institutions.