climate justice background document

8/4/2019 Climate Justice Background Document

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Climate Justice

The nature and impact of changing weather patterns has elicited calls for a global response totake action on climate change. Climate change has been defined as a change in climate which

is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global

atmosphere and which is, in addition to natural climate variability, observed over comparable

periods.1 The absence of serious commitments from governments to reduce greenhouse gases

and adopt greener technologies is increasingly being seen as a massive human rights violation,

as is the low commitment of big business to reduce practices that add to this problem. The

issue is one of injustice: a large proportion of the emissions of greenhouse gases comes from

countries in the global north, while emissions from countries in the global south are comparably

much less. Even though climate change is a source of concern for all and affects everyone, it is

communities and vulnerable groups in the global south who bear the brunt of its impact as it

continues to threaten livelihoods.

Climate justice will be the subject of much attention and debate in the run-up to the 17th session

of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the

Parties (COP 17) which will take place in Durban, South Africa from 28 November to 9 December

2011. 2 The UNFCCC is an environmental treaty aimed at stabilising greenhouse gas

concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that prevents interference with the climate system.3

The UNFCCC supports processes aimed at addressing the effects of climate change and seeks to

identify strategies to curtail global warming and address the increasing levels of heat.

Beyond emissions and reductions, climate justice seeks to insulate humanity from the

disruptions caused by climate change and ensure that the vulnerable are adequately protected

from its ill effects. Climate justice requires that those whose actions are causing climate change

take preventive measures and provide adequate restitution to victims, upholding the principles

of economic fairness and social justice. The role of civil society in persuading governments to

agree to a fair, ambitious and binding deal to reverse the effects of climate change is particularly

important in this regard.

The CIVICUS World Assembly presents yet another important platform for civil society to discuss

and share ideas and strategies aimed at strengthening the position of civil society in the

campaigns and efforts aimed at curbing climate change and in having a collective position in the

lead-up to key meetings on climate change and the environment, such as COP 17 and the Rio +

20 Summit.4

Within the theme of Civil Society and Global Decision-Making, the objective of the Climate

Justice track at the CIVICUS World Assembly is to identify how local voices and experiences can

impact on the global debate. Exploring how civil society can do it better when it comes to

advocating for climate justice, the track aims to stimulate mobilisation across civil society and

1United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992;

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf2

For additional information on COP 17, see the official website http://www.cop17durban.com/Pages/default.aspx3

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf4

International Governance for Sustainable Development and Rio+20: Initial Perspectives

http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/content/documents/IGSD%20Discussion%20Paper%201-1.pdf


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highlight local experiences in sustainable development. Overall, the role of civil society will be

explored in the elaboration, adoption and implementation of responsible environmental policies

and their coordination at local, national and international levels.

The COP 17 in Durban, South Africa provides another opportunity in the fight for climate justice

that needs to be grasped. COP 17 comes at a time where negotiations and agreements on

viable and comprehensive solutions have fallen short of expectations, both in terms of the

efforts by the key countries guilty of instigating the situation and possible solutions and options

to assist vulnerable communities in dealing with the effects of climate change. The call from

concerned CSOs to governments in the lead-up to and during this meeting is to move away from

business as usual and adopt an ambitious and resounding agreement that would assist

countries around the world to create a greener economy and which will hold those who pollute

the environment accountable for their actions.

COP 15 in Copenhagen provided a series of missed opportunities by not fully meeting theexpectations of civil society and fell short of commitments aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

COP 17 in Durban comes a year before the Kyoto Protocols first commitment expires in 2012.

The Protocol sets binding targets for 37 industrialised countries and the European community

for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These amount to an average of five percent against

1990 levels over the five year period 2008-2012.5

As we move closer towards the Durban Conference and look further to the Rio + 20 Conference

on Sustainable Development, governments, the private sector, civil society and other

development stakeholders should:

Ensure that developed countries meet their financial targetsThe financial targets are aimed at reducing climate change and providing adequate

funds to vulnerable communities and people to fight climate change and compensate

those who have been adversely affected by the phenomenon. At present, close to 90%

of available funding for addressing climate change is directed at mitigation to reduce the

amount of emissions, but a lot more needs to be done to assist affected communities to

adapt because the consequences are apparent. At Cancun, developed countries made

commitments to allocate more resources to the tune of about US$ 30billion between

2010 and 2012 and a further US$ 100 billion a year by 2012 to assist developing

countries in solving some of the challenges caused by climate change.6 These and future

funds committed should be easily accessible by those most affected by climate change.

Furthermore, governments need to ensure that the Global Climate Fund is set up withavailable funds which can be accessed by those affected by climate change. Three

sources of funding to contribute to this Global Fund have been proposed. These are (i)

contributions from governments in the global north, (ii) returns from a financial

transaction tax 7 (a small percentage levied on large financial flows between

5UNFCCC website http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php

6 Framework Convention on Climate Change , http://unfccc.int/files/na/application/pdf/07a01-1.pdf7

See, The Robin Hood Tax: The Time is Now 19 June 2011, http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/oxfam-

robin-hood-tax-time-is-now-201106.pdf


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international financial institutions), and (iii) an Emissions Trading Scheme (a small tax

levied on emissions from aviation and shipping).

Ensure space for civil society to participate actively in the processCivil society needs to be afforded the space to participate actively in the discussions

leading up to and during the conference itself to ensure that the voices of those

vulnerable to climate change and those already affected are represented. Through its

participation, civil society will provide insight into possible remedies to curb climate

change which negatively affects the poor and vulnerable as well as solutions to adapt to

greener technology. Adequate space for civil society to participate will enable it to reach

leaders making decisions and bring together grassroots organisations, research

institutes, advocacy groups and the media to demonstrate the power of unified

committed voices. However, many CSOs were disenchanted about their lack of access in

Copenhagen8

and the signs for Durban are not promising.

Develop a new agreement on the second commitment period of the Kyoto protocol9At the Copenhagen summit, governments committed to keeping the rise of

temperatures to within 2 degrees Celsius.10 At the end of the Durban summit there

should be a viable and ambitious treaty which is binding on all governments, aimed at

reducing climate change with specific provisions to hold to account those who do not

live up to their commitments. The United States has never been a signatory to the

Kyoto Protocol, while there is perceived reluctance from Japan, Russia and Canada to

extend their commitments.

Educate and mobilise communities and grassroots organisations on climate changeThis needs to be done in a manner that takes into account the effect climate change has

across civil society and by looking at climate change as a human rights issue. In South

Africa (host to COP 17) and other countries around the world, meetings are being

organised to increase awareness and to inform communities about the seriousness of

climate change and demand action from governments to protect communities. There is

now an urgent need to link organisations with a global reach with local organisations in

South Africa so that a broad range of voices is represented, and to reach people through

creative and accessible means. These processes should be linked to the Global Day of

Action to Stop Climate Change where protesters will highlight effects/concerns related

to climate change.

The South African civil society coalition known as C17 has been established in the run-up

to COP 17 and brings together diverse civil society actors under a common platform to

represent the concerns of people and communities during the Durban Conference. The

C17 group holds regular conversations with South African authorities hosting COP 17

8See for example the text of a letter from over 50 CSOs condemning lack of access in Copenhagen at

http://uk.oneworld.net/article/view/164207/1.9

For the full text of the Kyoto Protocol, see http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf.10

Report of the Conference of the Parties on its Fifteenth Session held in Copenhagen from 7- 19 December 2009,

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/cop15/eng/11a01.pdf


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and UN officials to underscore the inclusion of civil society positions in the negotiations

in Durban. C17 also holds regular discussions with representatives from international

civil society who will be present in Durban.

The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), a platform of civil society organisations

from around 45 African countries, advocates for climate friendly and equity-based

development.11 It is carrying out consultations across the continent to get different

perspectives on climate change in the lead-up to Durban. PACJA organised a strategic

meeting in March 2011 in which participants discussed the outcome of COP 16

organised in Mexico, identified areas needing improvements and highlighted possible

civil society positions which will be taken to Durban.

The Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA), an alliance of 270 non-profit

organisations across the world, is also mobilising civil society and galvanising public

support to ensure a safe climate future for people and nature.12

It is engaged in theTckTckTck campaign which is working towards a strong public mandate for bold

political decisions to address climate change.13

What role for the private sector?

The role of the private sector should include a greater understanding of the principle and the

value of corporate social responsibility and the proactive production and use of energy in a

more sustainable manner that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The implementation of new

strategies by the private sector to curb climate change will provide new opportunities to

stimulate economic growth because the development of new environmentally-friendly

technology will create green jobs and new industries.

From Durban to Rio: Rio + 20 Summit14

World leaders will again meet in Rio from 4 to 6 June 2012 to identify gaps in the

implementation of previous commitments made on sustainable development, address identified

challenges and adopt renewed political commitments on sustainable development. The Rio+20

meeting marks the 20th anniversary of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and

Development held in Rio and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable

Development in Johannesburg which were important milestones in the struggle for climate

justice. Civil society organisations around the world have already begun consultations with key

development partners in order to provide input to the discussions in Rio.

The UN has issued a call for civil society organisations to provide inputs by 1 November 2011.

Civil society inputs will help shape a compilation document that will be discussed in New York in

December 2011. This document will be used to develop the zero draft of the outcome

document that will be negotiated between February and April in New York. Civil society groups

11Website of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance http://www.pacja.org/

12Website of the Global Campaign for Climate Action http://gc-ca.org/gcca-home-english/

13Website of the TckTckTck Campaign http://tcktcktck.org/

14Website of the Rio +20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/


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from around the world will work closely with civil society in Brazil to have further access to the

discussions.

Among other concerns, the discussions at the CIVICUS World Assembly will aim to address the

following questions:

How can we advance and expand the space for civil society in inter-governmentaldiscussions on climate policy?

What role does or should the private sector play in addressing the climate justice issues? Why is Climate Justice a human rights issue? What are some examples of best practices? How can alliances be strengthened between CSOs working on climate change and CSOs

working on other human rights and social justice issues?

Reading List

For additional information on COP 17, see the official website

http://www.cop17durban.com/Pages/default.aspx

For additional information on Rio + 20, see the official website

http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf

Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1998

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf

International Governance for Sustainable Development and Rio+20: Initial Perspectives,

Stakeholder Forum

http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/content/documents/IGSD%20Discussion%20Paper%201-1.pdf

Report of the Conference of the Parties on its Fifteenth Session held in Copenhagen from 7-19

December 2009, http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/cop15/eng/11a01.pdf

The Robin Hood Tax: The Time is Now 19 June 2011

http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/oxfam-robin-hood-tax-time-is-now-

201106.pdf

The Special Climate Change Fund - Text on Funding Under Convention

http://unfccc.int/files/cooperation_and_support/financial_mechanism/application/pdf/7_cp.7.

pdf

climate justice background document

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