The effects of climate change and of the overexploitation of natural resources are becoming more noticeable on a worldwide level. Nevetheless, public discourse and supranational negotiations are often dominated by the Global North. Against this background, this special issue provides a wide array of analyses of different forms of self-organisation that have emerged globally to address the causes and unfolding consequences of climate disasters and of socio-ecological conflicts. The research articles as well as essays and interviews in this issue, offer novel theoretical and empirical contributions that examine how various social movements envision, negotiate, and strive for differing futures. While growing bodies of research in this field exist in both the Global North and South, they have largely remained isolated. We therefore aim to bridge this gap by placing special emphasis on contributions from the Global South as a starting ground for a dialogue that fosters environmental justice and enhances a more equal knowledge production.