Climate justice
Climate justice is an approach that treats climate change as an ethical, political, and human-rights issue, focusing on unequal responsibility, vulnerability, decision-making power, and access to solutions. It seeks fair distribution of mitigation and adaptation burdens and benefits, meaningful participation, protection of rights, and remedy for climate-related harm.
In simple terms
Climate justice asks who caused climate change, who is most exposed to its effects, who controls decisions, and who receives finance or protection. People and countries with relatively small historical contributions can face severe losses while having fewer resources to adapt. The concept therefore links emissions policy with equity, rights, participation, finance, and remedy. Environmental justice supplies closely related principles about fair treatment and meaningful involvement, while climate justice applies them specifically to climate causes, impacts, and responses across local, national, and international scales.
Why it matters
A climate measure can reduce emissions yet still be unjust if it displaces communities, raises essential costs without support, or excludes affected people. Human rights due diligence helps organizations identify and address impacts connected to their activities and relationships. Decent work considerations can also shape whether low-carbon investment creates safe, fairly compensated opportunity rather than new forms of exclusion.
Example
A coastal adaptation authority maps exposure, income, disability, tenure security, and cultural ties before selecting protection measures. Residents influence priorities and can challenge decisions. The authority publishes who receives funding and who may be displaced. Supply chain due diligence is separately used to assess labour and environmental risks in sourced construction materials.
How it differs
Environmental justice
Climate justice focuses on unequal responsibility for and impacts of climate change and its responses; environmental justice addresses environmental burdens, benefits, participation, and remedy across a wider range of environmental issues.