The Politics of a Sustainable Coast: Competing Adaptation Cultures in Southeastern Louisiana

This chapter analyzes competing visions of climate adaptation in coastal Louisiana, a place where the risks of rising seas and severe storms are compounded by ongoing land subsidence. It connects the theoretical approach of the climate cultures literature with ideas from the political economy of the environment, which focuses on how groups with different interests and perceptions of risk and resilience struggle for influence in the political process. Using data from 37 qualitative interviews with highly involved supporters and critics of Louisiana’s “Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast”, the chapter explores how these adaptation cultures entwine with debates that pit regional economic development against social equity and pro-business sentiment against a desire for industry accountability. It demonstrates that in this region, differences in climate cultures are linked to place-based struggles in which groups strive to advance different interests and goals.