TOOLKIT

What is Climate Justice?
According to the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, climate justice is a “vision
to dissolve and alleviate the unequal burdens created by climate change. As a form of
environmental justice, climate justice is the fair treatment of all people and freedom from
discrimination with the creation of policies and projects that address climate change and the
systems that create climate change and perpetuate discrimination.”
Many people are negatively affected by climate change, thus making it a human rights issue,
especially for people of color, low-income and Indigenous communities. These vulnerable
communities are the first to experience the negative impacts of climate change such as heatrelated
illness and death, respiratory illness, infectious diseases, unaffordable rises in energy
costs, and extreme natural disasters. Not only do they bear disproportionate burdens from
climate change itself, but also from climate change drivers, like coal plants, and ill-designed
policies meant to prevent climate change but tend to exclude those that need the most
protection. Moreover, those who are most affected are least responsible for the greenhouse gas
emissions that cause the problem–both nationally and globally.
Climate injustice affects communities both locally and globally. In the U.S., a vast majority of
low-income communities and communities of color are concentrated in urban centers in the
Southern United States and along coastal regions–areas at high risk of flooding and major
storms, and that have a history of substandard air quality. Additionally the use of antiquated
forms of energy such as coal fired power plants and natural gas lead toxic contamination of the
air, ground, and ground water – these energy sources are predominately placed in areas where
vulnerable communities have settled. Climate Justice links human rights to development in
order to achieve a human-centered approach, safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable
and sharing the burdens and benefits of climate change and its solutions equitably and fairly.
Climate justice is informed by science, responds to science and acknowledges the need for
equitable stewardship of the world’s resources.
The Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice (MRFCJ) notes that we should all share the
benefits and burdens of climate change. In fact, the “benefits and burdens associated with
climate change and its resolution must be fairly allocated. This involves acceptance of common
but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in relation to reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions. Those who have most responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions
and most capacity to act must cut emissions first.
“In addition, those who have benefited and still benefit from emissions in the form of on-going
economic development and increased wealth, mainly in industrialized countries, have an ethical
obligation to share benefits with those who are today suffering from the effects of these
emissions, mainly vulnerable people in developing countries. People in low income countries
must have access to opportunities to adapt to the impacts of climate change and embrace low
carbon development to avoid future environmental damage.”
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