Mar 8
What is Climate Justice? It’s more than just a trending term.
We see “climate justice” trending on our socials almost every time there is a global meeting on climate change. That is a good thing. But it is important to understand what it is and why it is.
Climate justice describes the movement to ensure that the impact of climate change is not disproportionately felt by certain communities, particularly those that are marginalized or disadvantaged. This approach aims to address the underlying social and economic factors that contribute to climate change and to promote policies and actions that are sustainable and just.
One of the key challenges of climate justice is the unequal distribution of the impacts of climate change. For example, all over the world, low-income, communities of color, and other divested groups are often the ones who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as flooding, heat waves, and other extreme weather events. This is because these communities are often located in areas that are susceptible to hazards, such as flood zones or extractive industries. Opportunities for work and inexpensive real estate near hazards tend to be near these hazards. People in these communities are already vulnerable due to a lack of political and economic resources. As a result, they are hyper-exposed to climate risk and under-resourced with opportunities to mitigate that risk. We often call these communities “frontline communities”. This is a term borrowed from the environmental justice movement.
Environmental justice is often used interchangeably with climate justice, but the two concepts are distinct. Environmental justice has its roots in the struggles of overburdened, mostly African-American communities, in the United States. Inspired by the civil rights movement, it focuses on the fair treatment of all people with respect to environmental issues, including access to clean air and water, healthy food, and safe living conditions.
Climate justice, on the other hand, specifically addresses the unequal distribution of the impacts of climate change and the need to address the root causes of climate change through a just transition to a low-carbon economy. It acknowledges that the people who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change are often the ones who contribute the least to the problem. Climate justice seeks to ensure that these communities are not left behind in the transition to a sustainable future.
There are many challenges to achieving climate justice, but one of the most significant is the political and economic power held by those who benefit from the status quo. Fossil fuel companies, for example, have a vested interest in maintaining the current economic system that relies heavily on the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. These companies have lobbied against policies that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and have even engaged in disinformation campaigns to foment doubt about the science of climate change.
To overcome these challenges, climate justice advocates must build strong alliances with other social justice movements, including those focused on racial justice, economic justice, and gender justice. By working together, these movements can build a broad-based coalition that is powerful enough to challenge the status quo and demand a more just and sustainable future. Coalition building and centering communities are core to the work I do with The Undivide Project. Our organization is about connecting communities and providing them with democratized access to climate information and the skills to build resilience against climate change. Sometimes, that work includes helping them petition the government for change.
This is a key challenge for us all — advocating for action at multiple levels of government and society. While individual actions, such as reducing one’s carbon footprint, are important, they are not sufficient to address the scale of the problem. An example of this is the impact of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has erased the environmental gains from pandemic-era emissions reductions. Governments at all levels, from local to national and international, must take bold, comprehensive action to address the root causes of climate change.
This action must also be guided by principles of equity and justice. For example, policies that incentivize the adoption of renewable energy must also ensure that the benefits of this transition are shared equitably across all communities, particularly those that have historically been left behind. In addition, policies must be designed with the input and leadership of affected communities to ensure that their unique needs are being addressed.
Climate justice is a movement that seeks to address the unequal distribution of the impacts of climate change and to promote policies and actions that are just and sustainable. This approach recognizes that climate change is not just an environmental issue, but also a social and economic issue that intersects with issues of race, class, and gender. Achieving climate justice will require bold action at multiple levels of government and society, as well as strong alliances with other social justice movements. Ultimately, the goal of climate justice benefits everyone: to ensure that no one is left behind in the transition to a sustainable future.
