Climate Justice Research Articles

Development of a social vulnerability index: Enhancing approaches to support climate justice.

Development of a social vulnerability index: Enhancing approaches to support climate justice.

Navigating AI and climate change in an unequal world

Navigating AI and climate change in an unequal world

Framing in Climate Change Communication and its Influence on Ideological Divides

This study examines the influence of dominant climate change communication frames on ideological divides. The research integrates a content analysis of 100 social media posts and news articles to identify dominant frames and a mixed-methods survey with 45 respondents to assess the perception of these frames among publics from diverse ideological backgrounds. Additionally, three expert interviews were conducted to enrich the findings. Some frames, such as the Climate Policy, the Moral Duties and Climate Justice, and the Science Uncertainty and Hoax frames, emerge as more divisive, often due to moralistic or alarmist tones and politicised messaging. Others, like the Destruction of Nature and Responsibility and Accountability frames, show greater potential to transcend divides when framed through a positive lens. Overall, the main findings highlight the importance of aligning messages with audience values, avoiding blame-driven narratives, using simple and relatable language and emphasising positive, solution-oriented approaches. By illustrating how different frames resonate with diverse ideological segments, this research offers valuable insights for practitioners and academics seeking to reduce polarisation through climate communication strategies.

Climate justice and curriculum justice: Young people's accounts of schools' uneven responses to their climate justice activism

AbstractThe uneven ways in which climate change is taught (or not) within schools, and the uneven opportunities for students to experience justice‐oriented climate education, are curricular injustices. Recent systematic reviews of Climate Change Education literature note a depoliticising tendency in climate change education, with official curriculum documents rarely engaging with issues of justice. This previous research raises questions about how young people involved in climate advocacy narrate their experiences of learning about climate change and justice in and beyond mainstream schooling. This article, co‐authored with four Research Associates who are also climate justice advocates, explores young people's stories of learning (or not) about climate change and climate justice in school and social movement spaces. These accounts were shared during formal research conversations with 61 people and written in 59 survey responses: all participants identified as involved in youth‐led climate justice networks across Australia. We draw on the concept of curricular justice to analyse the inequitable distribution of opportunities to experience justice‐oriented approaches to teaching climate change for young people in Australian schools. Many of these young people describe turning beyond mainstream schooling to experience critical, collective and creative forms of climate justice education that bring climate change into direct connection with social justice. We argue that listening to young climate justice advocates' accounts of their schooling experiences offers valuable insights about the current conditions for learning and acting on climate change in schools. These insights can productively inform the development of justice‐oriented climate change education.

Fight for your (climate) rights!

The climate protests of Last Generation have not only garnered widespread attention but also sparked significant criticism. A key argument against their actions is that they undermine democratic processes and therefore pose a threat to democracy. Such critiques frame the group’s environmental concerns as being in opposition to their critics’ concerns for democracy. In this paper, we explore how this perceived tension between climate protection and democracy can be addressed. Drawing on ethical, legal, and human rights perspectives, we argue that this conflict cannot be resolved by simply prioritizing one side over the other. Instead, each of these perspectives affirms that both climate protection and democracy are fundamental values, state objectives, and legal principles. Consequently, we argue that the best way to address this tension is to fundamentally reframe the debate itself. Instead of asking whether “democracy or climate protection” should take priority, we should emphasize their interdependence and synergies—shifting toward a “democracy and climate protection” framework. To support this argument, we draw on Robin Celikates’ concept of radical democratic civil disobedience, which allows us to perceive Last Generation’s protest actions as a struggle for both climate justice and democracy.

Intersectional Approaches to Climate Justice: Examining Gendered Environmental Labor through the Lens of Equity and Sustainability

Climate crisis is both an environmental challenge and a social one, deeply rooted in systems of inequality and oppression. Addressing this crisis requires a holistic approach that recognises the intersectional nature of vulnerability and resilience. By centring the experiences of those who perform gendered environmental labour—often the most affected yet least heard, we can develop more equitable and sustainable solutions that truly leave no one behind. This research examines how intersecting social inequalities exacerbate climate vulnerabilities for women in the Global South, focusing on the undervaluation of their environmental labor. The research addresses the critical questions of how gender, race, and class shape women’s disproportionate climate burdens and how intersectional approaches transform climate governance. Using feminist political ecology and case studies from agrarian and Indigenous communities, the study critiques technocratic climate solutions that neglect structural inequities. It reveals how women’s roles as caregivers, smallholder farmers, and resource managers intensified by droughts and deforestation remain systematically invisible, perpetuating cycles of exploitation. The paper aims to center gendered labor in climate justice advocacy by proposing three objectives, which are analyzing policy gaps in recognizing women’s ecological work, demonstrating the efficacy of women-led conservation initiatives, and advocating for participatory policymaking that addresses intersecting oppressions. Findings underscore the need to dismantle extractive systems and redistribute power through reparative finance, land rights reforms, and inclusive governance. Equitable sustainability requires embedding intersectionality in climate action from local adaptations to international treaties to align environmental goals with social justice.

Politics and resistance of coal in Australia and India climate justice activism in the global north and south

Politics and resistance of coal in Australia and India climate justice activism in the global north and south

The Impartial Judge, Climate Change and the Conflict of Laws

The article reflects on how an impartial judge might approach disputes involving environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, especially climate change. Section II expresses doubts about the efficacy of a purely private international law analysis in dealing with climate change litigation and suggests ways of addressing such concerns. Section III focuses on Asia and comments on the extent to which the observations in section II are applicable to the Asian context. Section IV offers tentative thoughts, in light of sections II and III, on how judges can and should conduct themselves in ESG disputes relating to climate change.

Media, Disasters, and the Global South: Comparing Global North and South Media Framing on Pakistan’s 2022 Floods

The 2022 floods in Pakistan, one of the most recent catastrophic natural disasters, highlighted critical vulnerabilities in governance, infrastructure, and climate resilience. This study investigates the framing of the floods in newspapers from the Global North and Global South. The newspapers under investigation included The Guardian, The New York Times, The Times of India, and Dawn. The study used a cross-sectional research design. Under the rubric of framing theory, utilizing quantitative content analysis, the study examines the prevalence of key frames in the press of the Global North and the Global South. The findings revealed a dominance of solution, vulnerability, and responsibility frames. Moreover, the Global North and Global South framed human causes, i.e., larger societal forces, as responsible, rather than natural causes. In addition, the victimization frame is more focused than community-led efforts. Notably, the solutions primarily emphasized international aid and climate adaptation, and other local governance and community adaptation frames. These results underscore the dual role of Global North and Global South media both as advocates for global climate justice and narrators of humanitarian crises, while also highlighting gaps in resilience narratives and local agency. This study contributes to framing theory by exploring the interplay of global and local narratives in disaster reporting. It emphasizes the need for balanced, actionable solutions in media discourse on climate-induced disasters to ensure climate justice.

The Role of Moral Decoupling on Corporate Social Advocacy Support: Testing Moral Decoupling Theory Across Causes

The study tested moral decoupling (MD) in two corporate social advocacy (CSA) contexts: climate justice and racial justice. It examined the relationships between MD and advocacy support and the impact of CSA support on consumer and advocacy outcomes. Participants ( N = 1246) completed an online survey about their attitudes and behaviors related to these advocacy causes. Results suggest that immorality judgment, not performance judgment, mediated the relationship between MD and CSA support across causes. CSA support was positively associated with advocacy intention, positive word-of-mouth (PWOM), and buying intention. The study highlights theoretical implications for MD in CSA and discusses practical implications for CSA efforts and strategic public relations management.

Form and Flow: The Spatial Politics of Urban Resilience and Climate Justice by Kian Goh

<i>Form and Flow: The Spatial Politics of Urban Resilience and Climate Justice</i> by Kian Goh

Advancing Climate Justice: A Research Roadmap to Operationalizing U.S. Climate Policy for Critical Social Change

Advancing Climate Justice: A Research Roadmap to Operationalizing U.S. Climate Policy for Critical Social Change

Social work and climate change: the split between the personal and the professional

ABSTRACT The climate crisis is accelerating even quicker than feared with devastating consequences for nature, animals and especially people that social workers engage with. This article, drawing on empirical data from qualitative research with social work practitioners in Sweden, highlights the gaps between global rhetoric and on-the-ground realities, and the huge chasm between social worker’s commitment to climate justice on a personal level and their professional practice. Informed by reflexive thematic analysis and the descriptive-interpretive research design, the empirical data show that while social workers reflect deep awareness of the importance of responding to climate change, understanding it as everyone’s responsibility, they see the call to action as being far removed from the demands of daily practice. There are strong indications that global patterns of individualization, specialization and the impositions of efficiency and narrowly defined outcomes, featured of neoliberalism and new public management, influence social workers’ scope of work in decided ways. The global, national and institutional constraints on the roles of social workers raise ethical issues in relation to the imperative that all social workers address issues of ecosocial justice. The data suggest that if there were spaces for dialogue and reflexivity in their workspaces, and educational political and organizational support for group and community-based approaches, social workers would be willing to live up to the global imperatives to fulfill their roles in contributing towards ecosocial justice. The implications for the politicization of social work and the importance of emancipatory praxis in social work education and practice are discussed.

Applying an intersectional climate justice lens to understand climate crisis impacts on sexual and reproductive health and rights and identify local solutions: Qualitative findings from Khulna, Bangladesh.

Climate change has been described as the greatest health threat of the 21st century. Increased evidence of the linkages between climate change and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is essential to achieving full realization of SRHR. To understand if and how women and girls' perceived climate vulnerability impacts their SRHR decision-making, behaviors, and outcomes in cyclone-affected communities in coastal Khulna, Bangladesh, we conducted qualitative research using an intersectional climate justice lens. Climate justice states that the climate crisis is not just an environmental or health problem, it is equally a political and social problem, whereby different communities feel the consequences differently, unevenly, and disproportionately depending on a multitude of factors shaped by intersecting systems of power and oppression. We adopted an intersectional climate justice lens to explore how women and girls' intersecting identities impact their experiences with climate change - particularly extreme weather events - and impact their perceived vulnerability. We employed a two-phased participatory qualitative research design. We conducted key informant interviews with local SRHR and climate change experts (n = 10) plus in-depth interviews (n = 15) and community dialog meetings (n = 8) with women and girls of reproductive age (n = 49). Transcripts, activity outputs, and field notes were transcribed verbatim in Bangla, translated to English, and subsequently coded and analyzed thematically using Dedoose. Participants perceived numerous SRHR outcomes to be worsened by the climate crisis, including unintended pregnancy, sexual and gender-based violence, and pregnancy complications. Impacts were experienced differently across social categories, with overlapping identities including age, marital status, and religion magnifying vulnerability and risks to SRHR. Participants identified comprehensive SRHR and advances toward gender equity as essential for building climate resilience. Our findings provide actionable recommendations to support the full realization of climate justice and SRHR.

‘Do Not Go Through the System Passively’: Integrating Environmental Studies and Ethnic Studies Through a Social Justice Outdoor Education Program for High School Learners

This study examines a social-justice-focused environmental education program serving marginalized students through fostering engagement with local communities and natural environments. It presents a focused ethnographic case study of teachers of color who designed and implemented an ethnic studies and environmental education curriculum intended to address the educational alienation experienced by many students as well as the intersection of social justice and environmental stewardship. The study considers how teachers at two very different urban schools—one a continuation school, the other a traditional college preparatory high school—provided a venue for students to advocate on behalf of oppressed communities with which they identified. Researchers collected qualitative data from a variety of sources: field notes from participant observation of outdoor and classroom activities, document review of curriculum and student projects, focus group interviews with 86 students, and semi-structured individual interviews with teachers and alumni. Students in this innovative program did not fit the classic climate justice activist profile by engaging in climate marches, raising money for environmental organizations, or lobbying Congress for better environmental legislation. However, a key finding from the program and the teachers who lead it is to broaden our understanding of what it means to be a climate activist.

Characterization of Climate Justice Laws, Policy Framework and Actor Space for the Mangrove-Dependent Livelihoods in Lamu County, Kenya

Characterization of Climate Justice Laws, Policy Framework and Actor Space for the Mangrove-Dependent Livelihoods in Lamu County, Kenya

‘The hurricane was gritando’: leveraging elementary students’ climate experiences through storytelling as an approach to climate justice

More students experience climate disasters and injustices as climate change impacts worsen. Although students construct knowledge by integrating their experiences with new information, including those related to climate change, elementary standards and curricula often avoid the topic. By applying qualitative data analysis through narrative inquiry, this study investigates how upper-grade elementary students in four classrooms respond to a science unit on climate change. Students from an area impacted by climate change hazards used storytelling to center their lived experiences as critical to understanding the subject matter, thus representing themselves and elevating their voices and knowledge. Through storytelling, students described various events, their responses, and emotions. The most frequently described themes were mobility and uncertainty. Students also connected and built on each other’s ideas. This study discusses the implications of using storytelling in formal classroom settings as one avenue for the recognition dimension of climate justice.

Climate Justice and Gender Equity: Addressing the Silent Crisis of Environmental Displacement Among Indigenous Women During the Nigerian-Biafran War

Climate Justice and Gender Equity: Addressing the Silent Crisis of Environmental Displacement Among Indigenous Women During the Nigerian-Biafran War

Climate justice and the politics of extraction in Africa: the case of Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT This practice note links climate justice with the politics of extraction in Africa, using the case of lithium mining in Zimbabwe. The note emanates from a critical review of how current activities in key sectors at the centre of extractive politics in Africa, particularly mining, expose political rhetoric in as far as the move to and benefits of green transition in Africa are concerned. As the global demand for minerals important in climate change mitigation like cobalt and lithium rises, it appears the extraction patterns from colonial times are continuing and local communities directly impacted by extraction of these minerals are not meaningfully benefiting. Concerns have been raised around poor safety standards, unsafe working conditions, unfair displacement measures, environmental damage, and low wages for the workers. The practice note advances recommendations for a just green transition particularly as it involves the mining sector and implications of mining activities in Africa.

Evaluating equity and justice in Vancouver’s Sea2City Design Challenge

ABSTRACT Like many coastal cities, Vancouver, British Columbia faces risks from future sea level rise and has begun coastal adaptation planning in the last decade. In 2021, the City launched the Sea2City Design Challenge (Sea2City), a sea level rise design challenge in False Creek, a narrow inlet bordering downtown Vancouver on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations. The challenge brought together city staff, international design teams, Indigenous cultural advisors, youth, community representatives, and technical advisors to develop design concepts for adapting to a rising False Creek. Now complete, Sea2City offers opportunities to innovate coastal adaptation and evaluative research practices. Using Sea2City as a case study, this research applies the JustAdapt framework to better understand how equity and justice were incorporated into its process and outcomes. Developed by the study’s researchers, the JustAdapt framework is a new evaluative framework for practitioners and academics alike to bring accountability to their equitable adaptation work. Findings suggest that equity, not justice, was actioned through Sea2City’s process and engagement. While the challenge shifted to emphasise Host Nations and local ecology, less focus was placed on different knowledges and lived experiences. With climate change already disproportionately impacting equity-denied populations, scholars and activists call for climate justice. Coastal adaptation planners have identified equity and justice as important principles guiding their work, yet evidence on implementation and evaluation is lacking. This research contributes a case study on evaluating equity and justice in Vancouver’s Sea2City Design Challenge and hopes to inspire future evaluative projects and research.