With public discourse moving towards the right end of the political spectrum in Europe and beyond, we face pressing questions on how the (far-)right will relate to the climate emergency. While climate denial has long been one of their trademarks, new concerns are emerging over the possibility that right-wing formations may advance nationalist, isolationist, and racist framings of climate change. Border enforcement may be presented as a form of climate or environmental protection, while some actors may invoke the spectre of climate-induced mass displacement to justify stricter border controls and xenophobic discourses. These prospects are far from unlikely, as anti-migration stances become increasingly aggressive in numerous countries.

However, monitoring this evolution is challenging: political formations shift rapidly and vary across geographical contexts, and investigating the far-right implies exposure and risks for researchers. In this context, we recognise the need to create safe spaces for researchers to share methodologies and information, foster collaborations, and disseminate findings in modalities that safeguard those involved.

To this end, the project launches BEACON, a European observatory and network tracking right-wing discourses on ‘climate borders’. The Observatory will operate through an interactive website, coalition building activities with existing initiatives and networks, and a first Laboratory involving PhD students, activists and scholars. Rather than conducting original data collection, BEACON facilitates collaboration, capacity building and knowledge-sharing. The Observatory will sustain itself after the termination of the grant period, building on members’ ongoing research.

BEACON will consolidate and advance research on right-wing political ecologies of climate change, security and migration, and right-wing populism, contributing to monitoring and countering tendencies towards ecobordering and eco-fascism through academic-activist collaborations.