Right to climate justice

Right to climate justice

Part of: Prelims and GS-III -Climate change 

Context India’s President has expressed concern that time was running out for preserving nature for future generations and called for a debate on the right to climate justice.

What is Climate justice?

• Climate justice is a term used for framing global warming as an ethical and political issue, rather than one that is purely environmental or physical in nature.

Relevance of Climate Justice in present times

• Development vs. environment degradation: Measures taken for development largely have negative impact on the environment. IPCC reports have given strict warning about the devastating impacts of rising global temperature beyond 1.5 degree Celsius.
• Prioritising investment: Developing countries particularly lack funds for investment for implementing climate change actions. Climate justice helps to prioritise investment around the vulnerabilities of the communities worst affected by climate change.
• Lobbying by businesses and industrial groups: Big industrialists in fossil fuel based businesses pressurize governments not to take decisions for quick transition to renewable based solutions. Climate justice shifts the focus of policy planning  to the suffering communities.
• Resistance shown by developed countries: Climate justice focuses on inequitable nature of impact of climate change and brings into the picture accountability for actions done by some countries over the other countries.