“WHAT IS THE POINT OF STOPPING CLIMATE CHANGE IF MY PEOPLE STILL CAN’T

HAVE JUSTICE?”

“WHAT IS THE POINT OF STOPPING CLIMATE CHANGE IF MY PEOPLE STILL CAN’T

HAVE JUSTICE?”Environmental justice, ecological justice, and

climate justice.

OUTLINEA. Introduction to environmental justiceB. From environmental justice to global ecological

justiceC. Anthropocentric versus eco-centric justiceD. Climate justice – in the negotiationsE. Climate justice – in civil society

(A) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE“Environmental justice is the fair treatment and

meaningful involvement of all people regardless of

race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to

the development, implementation, and enforcement

of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”

- US EPA

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

“Racial discrimination in the deliberated targeting of ethnic and

minority communities for exposure to toxic and hazardous waste

sites and facilities, coupled with the systematic exclusion of

minorities in environmental policy making, enforcement, and

remediation.”

- Former NAACP director Dr. Benjamin Franklin Chavis, Jr

(B) FROM ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TO GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL JUSTICE

As above, so below…

‘In the developed world only two people ride in a car, and yet you want us to give up riding on a bus.’- Lead Chinese negotiator, COP 3 in Kyoto, 1997

(C) ECOLOGICAL JUSTICE: “THE NEW ETHIC” OF SUSTAINABILITY

• The first recorded uses of the concept of ecological sustainability were in the 1970s.

• The UN-commissioned 1987 Brundtland Report called for “a new ethic” of sustainability to guide States’ actions.

• Two forms – strong and weak.

JUSTICE IN THREE DIMENSIONS• Justice between people and peoples

• Justice between generations

• Justice between humanity and nature

(D) CLIMATE JUSTICE: THE NEGOTIATIONS

1. Rio 1992: The Convention

2. Berlin Mandate and Kyoto Protocol

3. Bali Action Plan and Copenhagen

4. Durban Mandate and Paris

BUT FIRST: THE SCIENCE

1. Mean global temperatures have warmed by 1ºC (Hawkins).

2. Atmospheric CO2 is now consistently above 400ppm.

3. One tonne of methane has 21 times the warming impact over 100 years as one tonne of CO2 (UNFCCC).

4. We are looking at 2.7-3.5ºC warming this century (Hare et al).

(1) COMMON BUT DIFFERENTIATED RESPONSIBILITIES

The Parties should protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind, on the basis of

equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Accordingly, the developed country Parties should take the lead in combating

climate change and the adverse effects thereof.

- UNFCCC, art 3(1)

(2) BERLIN TO KYOTO (1995-1997)

‘In the developed world only two people ride in a car, and yet you want us to give up riding on a bus.’- Lead Chinese negotiator, COP 3 in Kyoto, 1997

• Berlin mandate imposed strict firewall of differentiation• Carried over into Kyoto Protocol• So, the US refused to ratify Kyoto - and it only entered

force in 2005

NEGOTIATING DYNAMICS Ambitious / Cooperative

Lacking ambition, lacking cooperation

DevelopedDeveloping

NEGOTIATING DYNAMICS Ambitious / Cooperative

Lacking ambition, lacking cooperation

DevelopedDeveloping

Europe

Umbrella GroupLMDCs

BAS IC

LDCs

SIDS / AOSIS

(3) BALI TO COPENHAGEN (2007-2009)

1. With the US outside Kyoto, by 2006 most states recognised a need for something more.

2. In 2007, negotiations started on a new climate deal, due to be concluded in Copenhagen in 2009.

COPENHAGEN

Oh dear.

(4) THE DURBAN RESET: APPLICABLE TO ALL

• New process launched.• Three key points:

1. an agreement ‘with legal force’2. ‘under the Convention applicable to all

Parties’3. to be agreed in 2015 and implemented from

2020

(5) THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT

• Agreed last December, signed in April.• Aims to limit warming to “well below 2ºC” and aim for 1.5ºC

(art 2).• Nationally determined mitigation targets to be reviewed

every five years:• “Facilitative dialogue” in 2018 (Decision, cl 20).• “Global stocktake” of mitigation commitments

scheduled for 2023 (art 14).• Wide range of (less relevant) finance and adaptation

mechanisms.

(E) CLIMATE JUSTICE IN CIVIL SOCIETY

• The term is used by everyone from the Pope in Laudato Si to former heads of state (eg the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice).

• Numerous different meanings, depending on the balance between the three axis of ecological justice.

• But the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice and/or Climate Justice Now represent civil society’s widely held understanding – and speak for Global South social movements millions strong.

CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW: MEANING

QUESTIONS