Social justice

If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilizations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.

Sir David Attenborough

It's unlikely we can tackle climate change without addressing global inequalities. The world's richest 10% are responsible for about half of the world's emissions, with the wealthiest 1% responsible for 15. Meanwhile, the world's poorest half contributes only 7%. If you earn more than $40k a year, you are in that top 10%. An annual income of $110k or more places you in the top 1%. The question isn't how can individuals act to reduce climate change factors like energy use and food consumption, but how must the well off in global society adjust their behaviors.

Climate change is already impacting many of the world's most marginalized populations — millions who have been excluded from increased industrial productivity but must deal with repercussions from the resulting emissions. Island nations are already dealing with extreme weather events and sea level rise. They are concerned the growing deep sea mining industry will wreak havoc on ecosystems vital to their existence. Impoverished countries are not the only ones dealing with impacts: the ongoing heat waves in Europe are linked to changes in the jet stream. We must listen and act for our fellow humans. Floods, famine, drought, and heat exposure are becoming more common and extreme.

Millions of affected people have needed to relocate from their homes and livelihoods. Crop production has been hit by massive heatwaves in some areas and torrential flooding in others, reducing yields and driving up prices. Research predicts crop failures directly linkable to climate change will become apparent within the next decade, even with an immediate and substantial decrease in emissions.

The aviation industry contributes 2% of greenhouse gas emissions. Similarly, the cruise industry's emissions are not negligible (while also allowed to dump trash & raw sewage into the ocean). Air travel and cruises are luxuries available only for the wealthy (in a global sense) and demonstrate how people responsible for the most emissions are the least affected. We have an enormous opportunity within our societies to address these issues.

Until a few years ago, the United States contributed the most greenhouse gas emissions, now surpassed by China. However, the U.S.'s total historical emissions are twice that of China's. So perhaps it isn't surprising that the most vulnerable countries are taking the most vigorous steps to combat climate change. Unfortunately, as shown above, they have the least leverage and ability to do so.

Instead of recognizing the imbalance between the people most responsible for emissions and those most impacted, governments plan on spending billions on incentives and market creation to discover technological solutions. This is a commitment to the same processes which brought us here: a doubling down on business-as-usual that continues to serve banks and investors. Our ability to focus on a global crisis only through economic opportunities will have disastrous consequences and is thinly veiled nationalism. Our leaders are even incapable of thanking contributors to a global climate change report without calling out our national involvement: "We thank all 270 authors – and especially the 33 U.S. authors from 28 institutions across 15 states and the District of Columbia".

How can anyone expect existing governments to heed messages about equality and its impact on our ability to address crises caused by climate change?

Technology transfer and financing can support developing countries leap frogging or transitioning to low emissions transport systems thereby providing multiple co-benefits

Climate Change 2022, Mitigation of Climate Change, Summary for Policymakers

[The report] explores future impacts at different levels of warming and the resulting risks and offers options to strengthen nature's and society's resilience to ongoing climate change, to fight hunger, poverty, and inequality and keep Earth a place worth living on – for current as well as for future generations. https://www.ipcc.ch/2022/02/28/pr-wgii-ar6/

Our assessment clearly shows that tackling all these different challenges involves everyone — governments, the private sector, civil society — working together to prioritize risk reduction, as well as equity and justice, in decision-making and investment

IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair Debra Roberts.

Where is the technology transfer between nations, allowing poorer countries to skip development phases of heavier pollution? Where are the fundamental transitions required in our society to overcome the mitigation and adaptation challenges? Yes, required changes: the existing systems brought us to this point and have made it clear their only path forward is more money for investors. Further economic development, at the continued cost to developing nations, only exacerbates the issues. Instead, we could learn from the successful self-determination shown by countries such as Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile as they lead the global movement to address a warming planet.

Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry continues misinformation campaigns like emphasizing individuals' responsibility for their carbon footprint. These companies have known of the impact of greenhouse gas emissions for decades. The same companies are abusing the carbon credit market they helped create, increasing profits while giving the appearance their emissions are decreasing. Our elected officials have known of these ramifications for just as long. Yet, instead of taking appropriate action, they continue approving massive fossil fuel projects, damning us to increased levels of warming and all of its consequences.

We are overshooting 1.5°C, putting millions if not billions in harm's way with natural disasters and other consequences of a warming climate. We are destroying communities and ecosystems to access materials for batteries, technology, and infrastructure. The solution must be listening to and working with all people across our planet. We need meaningful climate, ecological, and social justice for our children and grandchildren to have a livable — and living — world.