Saurabh Thakur
PhD Scholar, Diplomacy and Disarmament Division, Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Email: thsd89@gmail.com
Volume VIII, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF
Abstract
The manner in which the states define their responsibilities to act on climate change and interpret the other state’s accountability has been the fundamental conflict within climate change negotiations. The concept of justice is the moral basis of all political action and the principles of equity are the cornerstone, in the quest for justice, which has guided the international and national climate change mitigation and adaptation policies. It derives from a concept of social justice which can be applied to individuals, communities, nations, and even across generations. The pertinent question this paper examines are- Who should be held responsible for climate change? And who should pay the cost for it? The Climate Justice approach strengthens the institutional demand for equity and democratic decision making, which has eroded over the decades and at the same time it offers a sharp polemical response to the dominant discourses of development.
Keywords: climate change, climate justice, negotiations, equity, North-South divide