Why Climate Justice?
Welcome to the Climate Justice Network (CJN) blog where we talk about all things relevant to taking action on the climate emergency and its consequences.
When we started the CJN we ummed and aahed about what to call ourselves. We liked the idea of climate justice – goodness knows the impacts of climate change are being disproportionately felt by those least responsible for it – but wondered if the term would be confusing and direct attention away from the climate crisis. So, we start our blogs with an explanation of why we use ‘climate justice’ to speak about the climate crisis.
Climate justice was brought into climate discussions by Human Rights advocate Mary Robinson (Mary Robinson Foundation Climate Justice Campaign), who highlighted the link between human rights, sustainable development and climate change. On a global stage, climate justice has been an undercurrent at recent ‘COPs’. Countries (mainly) in the global south – where climate catastrophes are often a matter of life and death – are mostly sidelined by wealthier countries seeking to protect their polluting industries, sustain their way of life, and avoid paying reparation for the damage they have caused. In our region, you only need to look at the impact on Pacific Nations to know that climate justice is relevant and needed urgently.
At a global level, then, the term climate justice makes sense; but how does it play out at a national or state level? Throughout Australia the climate crisis is an existential threat to many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities which are experiencing risks to their ability to maintain cultural connections to country, totemic plant and animal species, and to their community. Other groups also face direct and indirect impacts of climate change: workers in industries impacted by energy transition, or by extreme heat; people who are homeless, live in sub-standard housing or in areas subjected to flooding and fires; climate migrants and refugees who have to relocate from areas deemed ‘uninhabitable’; and more. Beyond this, there is intergenerational inequality, where today’s younger people and the generations of tomorrow will bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change and bear the responsibility for its mitigation and adaptation.
All the issues mentioned above play out in South Australia and are key to how we decide what we do and how we do it. We think it’s important to build our community and actions around a sense of place. SA has a particular landscape: geographically, politically, socially, and culturally. We do some things really well (our commitment to renewable energy) and other things really poorly (the commitment to expanding gas developments), and these form the background for the kinds of change – and kinds of actions – needed to heed the science and urgently stop carbon emissions.
So, when we talk about climate justice, we commit ourselves to actions and policies based on science and our shared love for life on earth. We embrace our diversity and seek common ground rather than sameness; and we are committed to building relationships of dignity and respect.
For those of us who like a good definition, we can’t go past the one put out by CANA (Climate Action Network Australia), reproduced here with permission.
Definition of Climate Justice
“Climate Justice is climate action that prioritises fair and just outcomes for people and communities most affected by the impacts of climate change. This includes but is not limited to: First Nations People, People of Colour, migrant communities, people living with disabilities, children, young adults, low paid workers, workers in fossil fuel and other transition industries and people living in areas prone to climate disaster.
Climate Justice recognises the right for affected communities to speak for, and represent themselves, to contribute to decision-making processes and freely make choices that impact their lives, culture and biodiversity.”
Climate Justice is important to us because it provides a lens through which to grasp the urgency required in slowing down (even stopping) the climate crisis. Behind every increase in global temperature and every ‘natural’ catastrophe brought on by climate instability there are people whose lives matter, regardless of who they are or where they live. We urgently need to pressure governments to bring about the structural change necessary to both phase out fossil fuels and provide people affected with support, access to adaptation measures and compensation. This is why we call ourselves the Climate Justice Network.