6 December 2009: Ahead of the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) launched a publication titled “Climate Justice for a Changing Planet: A Primer for Policy Makers and NGOs,” which examinesthe intersection of equity and justice in the context of the current climate change debate.
The primer, co-authored by Barbara Adams and Gretchen Luchsinger, argues that climate justice is an economic and social, in addition to an ethical, imperative. The publication gathers research and analysis from various international organizations and civil society to demonstrate that the climate agenda needs to be jointly addressed with the need to achieve poverty reduction and respect human rights. The authors note that the concept of climate justice is based on the fact that the world’s poorest and most vulnerable are faced with the unjust burden from increased climate risks, and that the world’s richest have the obligation to take prompt action. They further underline that social movements and civil society organizations are already mobilizing around the climate justice agenda. [The Primer]