by Sahar Shah, University of Bristol Law School and Joy Reyes, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
Mitigating climate change is one thing; climate justice is another – however, the two concepts are often conflated in political and media discourses. This is a problem because the two issues require distinct analyses and responses. Without clarity about the nature of, and reasons for, these distinctions, the injustices that stem from climate change risk being subsumed under broadly defined ‘climate mitigation’ efforts. Legal language provides an apt toolkit for clarifying the ‘justice-based’ issues at stake in relation to climate change – and for translating these issues from the theoretical realm into public and policy spheres. The concept of ‘climate reparations’ serves as a topical case in point. (more…)