Climate justice in lieu of climate change: a sustainable approach to respond to the climate change injustice and an awakening of the environmental movement

Abstract

The climate justice is the concept of ensuring fair treatment and freedom from any kind of discrimination against the negative impacts of climate change. Both individually and collectively, in the form of adaptation and mitigation strategies, we are building our capacity to respond to the climate change, but the dimensions of environmental justice, equal treatment in the policy making and even the clear definition of vulnerable groups are often neglected. The climate justice is an evidence-based response to the environmental injustice and helpful in creation of fair policies and strategies to address the impacts of global warming by empowering the vulnerable groups with required legal resources, provision to ensuring necessary funding and capability to deal existing discrimination in the society. Historically, the journey of climate justice had begun with its recognition by the international bodies and legal frameworks. In the year 1992, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change insisted the member states to work together to reduce the greenhouse gases emission and also emphasized on the equity dimension of climate justice by mentioning the ‘common but differentiated responsibility’ in the charter. It specifies the need of proactive participation of the developed countries to resolve the issue of global warming, which was fueled by their ambitions, and they should help the developing countries with technological advances and finance to respond to climate change. The dimension of climate justice for the individuals and the vulnerable groups is to achieve a fair, equitable and sustainable legal solution to deal with the existing injustice in the society. It is a new kind of environmental movement, which is advocating for achieving a socially responsible, scientifically sound and economically fairly distributed legal framework. Climate justice offers a fair treatment and equal platform to deal with the inconsistencies in the recognition of different vulnerable groups and lack of opportunities for involving in decision-making system. The paper discusses the sustainable approach to respond to the climate injustice, where the vulnerable groups, disadvantaged individuals and the least developed states, who contributed least in global warming, but likely to be most affected by its impacts. The paper explores the current research gaps and recommends the policies to prepare climate justice legal framework.

Keywords

Climate change / Climate justice / Vulnerable groups / Climate vulnerability / Climate justice legal framework

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