Planetary justice: A research framework

Abstract

We develop a conceptual framework to empirically analyse conceptualizations of ‘justice’ in the context of profound transformations of the earth system. Equity and justice have become central issues in public discourses, political documents and research agendas. However, what justice implies in practice is often elusive. The conceptual framework that we advance seeks to bring structure, clarity, simplicity and comparability among different interpretations of justice in global change research. It reduces the wealth of five broad normative approaches to systematic, parsimonious answers on three key concerns any analyst of justice is facing: the subjects of justice and their relationship; the metrics and principles of justice; and the mechanisms on the basis of which justice is pursued. Our framework is designed for use in empirical analysis. We illustrate its usability by investigating two recent policy documents: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the founding documents of the ‘Future Earth’ research platform.