EXPLAINED
By Javed Baloch Dated 16/12/2024
Climate justice is a concept that frames climate change not just as an environmental issue but also as a social and ethical one. According to UNDP Climate Promise, "Climate justice means putting equity and human rights at the core of decision-making and action on climate change."
According to the Amnesty International, the climate justice approach, "looks at the root causes of the climate crisis and how climate change builds on and magnifies inequalities. It calls on powerful institutions to address these imbalances and injustices, and to lay the groundwork for a future that does not replicate the discrimination of the present and the past."
Equity: Vulnerable communities who have historically contributed the least to current climate change are disproportionately affected (Source: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change)
Human Rights: Climate change threatens basic human rights. Climate justice is one of the most significant human rights challenges of our time. It impacts fundamental rights such as life, health, food, water, housing, security, and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. (Source: Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice, Amnesty International)
Accountability: High-emission countries and industries bear a larger responsibility to mitigate climate change and fund adaptation measures in less-developed nations. (Source: IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, 2022)
The total carbon emissions from all Pacific Islands account for less than 0.03% of the global total. Rising sea levels disproportionately affect Pacific island nations like Vanuatu. According to The Climate Reality Project, "Climate change is projected to contribute to an additional 250,000 deaths each year by 2030, primarily in developing nations." (Source: Climate Analytics, TIME Magazine, The Climate Reality Project)
Wealthy nations must deliver on their climate finance promises and pledge more funds as well curbing their high emissions. Climate mitigation and adaptation plans should focus on marginalized groups. International bodies and courts like the ICJ should hold nations and corporations accountable for their actions contributing or intensifying the climate change crisis. Phase out fossil fuel use and transit to renewable energy.