If you haven’t heard of climate justice, you may be wondering what justice has to do with climate change? We are all hurt by climate change and the slow death of our planet caused by our own mismanagement so what exactly is climate justice? The use of the word justice suggests that there is someone responsible for the wrong being done. There are actors that are doing wrong to another and there is a need for a balancing of the scales. This idea makes some uncomfortable because there is a suggestion of culpability and an opportunity for accountability. Let’s take a look.
When we look at the impact of climate change and what areas of the world are suffering the most from the extreme conditions of global warming, we often see that some of the areas most impacted are contributing the least to emission. On a smaller, but no less important, scale, within the same countries there is a large disparity between the impact of climate disasters on those who are middle and upper class, and those with lower incomes or no incomes at all. For example, when hurricanes or tornadoes hit, those who can afford insured homes will bounce back faster than those who lack coverage or are moving from shelter to shelter. For this reason, climate justice speaks to a situation that goes beyond saving our world from burning up in the next decade or so. It speaks to the disparities in disaster resources, medical care, and more. It includes the question of, how do we protect those who are already the most vulnerable in our communities from environmental issues we’ve all contributed to.
Some try to view climate change as an issue in isolation as they believe considering the larger picture may cloud the urgency of the current climate crisis. However, this does tend to suggest that the equally urgent situation of those who are currently without clean water, medical care, shelter and adequate food, does not deserve the same urgency. It ignores the fact that millions are currently dying right now often because those who are responsible for the highest levels of global warming emissions are also responsible for stripping their homelands of all their valuable resources, leaving the surrounding communities with nothing.
Many would say that the interwoven nature of these issues requires an equally integrated solution as attempting to solve global warming in isolation will ultimately be less of a true solution, and more of a stop-gap measure. It’s been suggested that when a culture is built on squeezing the most out of the many while the few prosper while simultaneously never investing back into the foundation that made them great, you have an unsustainable cycle that will ultimately break down. Climate change then discusses exactly how we should tackle the problem of climate change from its core to the current crisis, including protecting the most vulnerable communities around the world. What do you think is the most necessary change to balance the scales between high emission countries or the wealthy and the most vulnerable countries and communities? Comment below!
Resources:
This is just how unfair climate change is
https://www.carbonbrief.org/experts-why-does-climate-justice-matter
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