Instrumentalizing ‘uninhabitability’ at a time of climate change: the case of Barbuda after Hurricane Irma

The notion of uninhabitability in climate research is used to characterize a place considered no longer livable as a result of climate change. However, there is limited empirical academic work demonstrating how it is more than a condition, but a contested socio-political construct that can be exploited, particularly in post-disaster contexts. This paper examines how uninhabitability is framed discursively and used to justify public actions in response to climate extreme events, drawing on the case of Barbuda following Hurricane Irma in 2017. It investigates the contested political narrative that portrayed the island as ‘uninhabitable’ and the enforcement of a mandatory evacuation. Drawing on autoethnography and empirical evidence grounded in the memories of its Barbudan co-authors, the paper contrasts lived experiences with official narratives to expose the political performativity of climate concepts. It challenges the central government’s uninhabitability framing, supported by international media, as misaligned with Barbudans’ realities. The paper contributes to critical debates on habitability under climate change, arguing that emerging approaches should build on place-based methods and examine power dynamics and the politicization of scientific climate concepts in contested territories. Future uninhabitability studies should adopt a climate justice lens that questions dominant knowledge systems and their influence on post-disaster adaptation policy.