Contours of Climate Justice - Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation

The second secretary general of the United
Nations most likely did not have climate
change in his mind. However, his notion
of ‘solidarity with nature’ calls for further
and fuller contemplation. Suffi ce it to conclude
within the confi nes of this preface that
throughout his varied career he clearly had
an awareness of natural beauty and serenity
and appreciated them as a treasure to be protected
in the post-Second World War era,
with its belief in progress and modernity
based on technological advancement and a
Fordist conception of the industrialisation
and commodifi cation of consumer societies.
Soon after his untimely death in the early
hours of 18 September 1961 on a mission to
the Congo to seek a peaceful resolution of
the confl icts arising from its decolonisation,
humankind’s disastrous eff ects on nature, and
responsibility for them, became a topical issue
in global governance initiatives. In 1967,
Sweden proposed that the UN General Assembly
convene a conference on the environment.
The UN Conference on the Human
Environment in Stockholm (1972), the UN
Conference on Environment and Development
in Rio de Janeiro (1992) and the World
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg
(2002) were subsequent markers
in a series of top-level global meetings, which
were continued in other forums all over the
world. They created normative reference
points and political institutions such as the
Convention on Biological Diversity and the
Framework Convention on Climate Change
in order to meet the challenges.
More than four decades after the Swedish
initiative in 1967, with governments of
the world due to meet in Copenhagen in
December 2009 to seek a follow up to the
Kyoto Protocol, progress has not advanced
6 Critical Currents no. 6
much beyond square one. Despite more than
300 multilateral agreements negotiated and
entered into since 1972, the world’s climate
as we know it faces ultimate collapse. Political
and institutional constraints have stood
in the way of a solution:
Many of the problems related to sustainable
development would have been solved
easily, or would not have evolved if the
agreements reached early on actually had
been implemented. However, by the end
of the process, a huge implementation
and accountability gap had accumulated
– a failure that lies at the core of the challenges
today. 6
The tendency of governments to place narrow
state interests above global survival
comes at a life-threatening price. It is therefore
not surprising that many concerned persons
have few if any expectations or illusions
that those participating in the Copenhagen
event will actually demonstrate the required
problem-solving capacity. Despite all the
declarations, declamations and lip service,
even the scariest climate-change scenarios
are proving to be understatements of what
might come. Policy responses and adaptations
fall short of addressing the challenges.
The logic of the era of the Enlightenment,
in which human beings utilise nature for
short-term gain without concern for longterm
survival, approaches bankruptcy.
Securing a future for human beings and the
many other endangered species on this planet
requires instead a change of mindset. The
6 Engfeldt, L-G. (2009), From Stockholm to Johannesburg
and Beyond. The Evolution of the International System for
Sustainable Development Governance and its Implications.
Stockholm: Government Offi ces of Sweden/Ministry
for Foreign Aff airs, June, p.15.