Climate justice

Climate justice is a type of environmental justice that focuses on the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalized or otherwise vulnerable populations. Climate justice seeks to achieve an equitable distribution of both the burdens of climate change and the efforts to mitigate climate change through advocacy and policy change. The economic burden of climate change mitigation is estimated by some at around 1% to 2% of GDP. Climate justice examines concepts such as equality, human rights, collective rights, justice and the historical responsibilities for climate change.

Climate justice recognizes that those who have benefited most from industrialization (such as coal, oil, and gas enterprises) are disproportionately responsible for the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere, and thus for climate change. Meanwhile, there is growing consensus that people in regions that are the least responsible for climate change as well as the world's poorest and most marginalized communities often tend to suffer the greatest consequences, with, for example, health problems due to being raised in an unhealthy environment. Depending on the country and context, this will often include people with low-incomes, indigenous communities or communities of color. They might also be further disadvantaged by responses to climate change which might exacerbate existing inequalities around race, gender, sexuality and disability. When those affected the most by climate change despite having contributed the least to causing it are also negatively affected by responses to climate change, this is known as the 'triple injustice' of climate change.

Conceptions of climate justice can be grouped along the lines of procedural justice and distributive justice. The former stresses fair, transparent and inclusive decision-making. The latter stresses a fair distribution of the costs and outcomes of climate change (substantive rights). There are at least ten different principles that are helpful to distribute climate costs fairly. Climate justice also tries to address the social implications of climate change mitigation. If these are not addressed properly, this could result in profound economic and social tensions. It could even lead to delays in necessary changes.

Climate justice actions can include the growing global body of climate litigation. In 2017, a report of the United Nations Environment Programme identified 894 ongoing legal actions worldwide.