Climate Justice

Last year, Pakistan was hit by extreme monsoon rain. Some districts received 500 percent more rainfall than average, affecting more than 33 million people with 8 million still homeless by January 2023. That was only one of many extreme weather events that happened around the globe in 2022. Science shows that the impacts of climate change accelerate, and that countries in the global south are particularly vulnerable while often contributing the least to global greenhouse gas emissions.   

The climate crisis does not hit every nation equally, and those least responsible for the warming of our planet often suffer the most significant impact. Climate justice is a term that acknowledges the injustice regarding the effects of climate change around the globe. In other words, the world’s richest 10% are responsible for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions, while the poorest 50% are only responsible for 10%.  

Since 1991, humans have emitted more CO2 into the atmosphere than in the rest of human history. The carbon budget, according to the IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), is the maximum amount of CO2 that humanity can emit while still having a chance to limit global warming to 1.5 °C or 2 °C. At the current rate of emissions, we will exceed the carbon budget before 2030. The largest emitter on the list is the United States, followed by China and Russia. These countries are historically responsible for vastly more emissions than others.  

Climate justice is about social justice, human rights, Indigenous rights, gender equality, and future generations’ rights. Developing countries are in the process of building up infrastructures and better living conditions for their citizens, which often results in higher emissions of greenhouse gases. But how can those nations gain equal wealth as developed countries while a few industrialized nations have already used up the carbon budget for the whole of humanity?  

The Climate Justice movement asks rich countries to recognize their historical responsibility for emissions, as they have used more than their fair share. One step toward this goal is a new loss & damage fund established during COP27 (the Conference of the Parties by the UNFCCC in Egypt, 2022). The fund aims to offer financial support to those nations hit the hardest by the effects of climate change. However, details about how the fund will work, which nations will benefit from it, and how funding will be provided has yet to be discussed.  

A look closer to home reveals that the Arctic has warmed three times faster than the rest of the world in the past 49 years. The rapidly changing landscape and conditions for Indigenous peoples are marked by extreme weather events and melting sea ice. Indigenous peoples make up an estimated 10% of the total population in the Arctic region, with over 40 ethnic groups. Indigenous peoples have inhabited the Arctic for thousands of years with various cultural backgrounds, languages, and traditional livelihoods. Many Indigenous people live in strong connection and respect for nature, and thus, changes in natural patterns and seasons disrupt harvest activities and impact the economy, society, and health of their communities. 

The climate crisis is all around us. It is already here. And while each of us have contributed different shares to fuel the crisis, we have one thing in common: Our ability to act with the environment in mind. From now on. Whether it means adjusting our lifestyle decisions such as consuming less, changing our diets, and driving less, or becoming active in our community and educating others, our common goal stays the same: To survive and thrive, and give each and every person on the planet the same right.

We have one thing in common:

Our ability to act with the environment in mind. From now on.

Illustration: Amber Lim