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- Convenors:
-
Ajmal Khan AT
(National Law School of India University)
ann-elise lewallen (University of Victoria)
Send message to Convenors
- Format:
- Paper panel
- Stream:
- Climate emergency and development
- Location:
- B302
- Sessions:
- Thursday 27 June, -, -, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract:
This panel addresses new forms of Socio-Environmental injustice co-produced through climate change mitigation and adaptation. We ask what are the various forms of Socio-Environmental Justice that emerge in tandem with "climate action"? How do we understand this with histories of colonialisms?
Long Abstract:
As part of the worldwide actions against anthropogenic climate change, global economic and socio-environmental rearrangements for more than a decade now bring about new forms of unequal environmental relationships. Least developed countries, Island nations, countries in the global south particularly in Africa, Asia, and South America, indigenous people around the world, and low-income, lower class, and caste communities experience new forms of environmental and climate injustice. This is experienced as environmental colonialism (Agarwal and Narain 2012) where the developing countries are blamed for climate change to Climate Coloniality (Sultana 2022) where uneven and inequitable impacts of climate change are facilitated through global racial capitalism, colonial dispossessions (Ghosh 2021), and climate debts. This panel addresses these new forms of Socio-Environmental injustice co-produced through climate change mitigation and adaptation. The panel asks what are the various forms of emerging Social and Environmental Justice issues that emerge in tandem with "climate action"? How can we understand these new relations and environmental re-arrangements that co-occur with colonial legacies? How do we re-think social and Environmental Justice after Climate Change? We invite papers that explore this theme but are not limited to the following specific topics.
Energy Transitions and Environmental Justice in the Global South
Critical Minerals, Social- and Environmental Justice
Indigenous People, Social- and Environmental Justice after Climate Change
UNFCCC Processes, Environmental and Climate Justice
National and Local Climate Policies and Socio-Environmental Justice
Carbon Trading, Carbon Markets and Environmental Justice
Climate Coloniality, Green Colonialism, and Climate Justice
Climate Finance, Debt Traps and Justice
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 27 June, 2024, -Farhana Latief (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)
Paper long abstract:
Tourism is promoted as a means of development in the conflict ridden region of Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian State, where political instability and uncertainty is misrepresented through higher tourist numbers. And in order to tackle the public discontentment towards tourism driven ecological impact, the state has resorted to the deployment of ecotourism vocabulary. While ecotourism has become a talking point of state functionaries to show their consciousness of the climate crisis, this paper argues that the same consciousness does not reflect in climate change resilience strategies.
This study, hence, critically examines the integration of ecotourism within the broader frameworks of mitigation and adaptation transitions aimed at addressing climate change impacts in the region of Kashmir. It further explores whether the ecotourism initiatives that contribute to mitigating and adapting to the challenges posed by climate change are in consonance with environmental justice.
This research does this by scrutinizing the nuanced ways in which the supposed transitions co-produce environmental injustices that intersect with historical legacies of colonialism and current state dominance in the region. Drawing on frameworks such as environmental justice, the study investigates how the unequal impacts of climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts may inadvertently perpetuate historical patterns of injustice, particularly in relation to marginalized communities.Through a critical lens, this research argues that tourism and the transition to ecotourism are essentially political tools deployed by the state within the larger 'development discourse' in the region to erode the question of ‘political sovereignty’.
Ajmal Khan AT (National Law School of India University)
Paper long abstract:
The paper analyzes a set of documents produced by the governments, intergovernmental bodies, and global scientific establishments that include the recent congressionally mandated research plan and initial research governance framework by the White House, House of Commons Science and Technology Committee The Regulation of Geoengineering Fifth Report of Session 2009–10 Report and the UK Government's view and the Response to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee 5th Report of Session 2009-10: The Regulation of Geoengineering, The Royal Society's report, Greenhouse Glass removal and the United Nations Environment Programme's multidisciplinary expert panel report on Solar Radiation Modification. The paper demonstrates how even when some of these institutions are significantly concerned about potential risks and ethical issues in solar radiation modification, they are open to a future where researching, developing, and deploying solar radiation modification initiatives if they can cool the planet significantly at a given time. Further, some institutions might potentially be open to solar radiation modification initiatives even if that creates further disproportionate burden on counties and communities that were least responsible for the Anthropogenic Climate Change where cooling the planet at any cost could potentially become the priority. The paper broadly argues how ethics get complicated in the SRM debates and how that can make far reaching impacts for the most climate vulnerable regions and countries if Solar Radiation Modification initiatives get deployed.
Thomas Tanner (SOAS University of London) Andy Sumner (King's College London) Aditya Bahadur (International Institute for Environment and Development) Emily Wilkinson (ODI)
Paper long abstract:
Tackling climate change loss and damage has emerged as a central concern of climate action, following the failure to sufficiently prevent human-induced climate change or adapt to its impacts. Loss and damage has also become a central concern of climate justice campaigns and international climate negotiations, culminating in the establishment of an international fund at the COP28 meeting.
This paper asks what an understanding of external international development finance brings to the emergence of socio-environmental justice issues related to climate change loss and damage. The paper does this by critically discussing the conceptual framing of climate justice in the context of loss and damage; reviewing fifty-plus years of analogous research on external development finance; and discussing what such understanding implies for delivering different framings of climate justice in the context of loss and damage.
In doing so, we explore how the framings of climate justice for loss and damage draw on debates around reparations for colonialism and slavery, which could inform the delivery redistributive economic and social justice through compensatory claims. We argue that years of research on development finance can provide a basis for understanding: (a) the limits of external development finance - what external finance can and cannot do; (b) the politics of external finance - who benefits and different socio-economic consequences; and (c) the limits of such experience in delivering climate justice for loss and damage.
Yeri Shim (Seoul National University) Bo Kyung Kim (Jeonbuk National University)
Paper long abstract:
The principle of 'responsibility' has been central to international development debates, particularly concerning the allocation of costs. This study scrutinizes the evolving understanding of responsibility and its impacts on policy dialogue and actions of the Global South within the Conference of the Parties (COP), the annual meetings held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Focusing on COP 15 through the recent COP 27, the paper traces the concept of responsibility in the context of international development, accentuating the complexities that ensue in interconnected and asymmetrical burden-sharing dynamics between the Global North and South. Given that COP conferences serve as significant platforms for international cooperation and decision-making on climate change, it is essential to assess the leverage of the Global South within these donor-driven forums. Through discursive policy analysis, this paper explores how the concept of responsibility has been negotiated, contested, and redefined by the Global South, leading to new dynamics in environmental governance. We further examine the implications of these shifts for global climate negotiations, through a critical view of the role and agency of the Global South countries within successive COP meetings. By reviewing outcome documents, this paper aims to stimulate a reevaluation of the narrative of responsibility, and the role of Global South in establishing more equitable and effective approaches to addressing climate change and advancing sustainable development.
Martina Bortolan (University of Oxford)
Paper long abstract:
How do pessimistic projections of the countries vulnerable to climate change shape the way in which bilateral climate aid programs are designed for them? The literature on bilateral climate aid suggests that climate resilience projects express an understanding of vulnerable countries as doomed, an assessment that further reproduces existing North-South inequalities. However, by doing so, they fail to focus on two important factors: the donor countries’ self-perception and the contribution of local and national recipient actors in shaping the perception of vulnerable countries. To explore this dynamic, I analyse the FCDO’s Bangladesh Climate and Environment Programme, mapping the design of the project from knowledge production to delivery design, via semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that donor countries sponsor projects that align with the future they envision not only for the recipient country, but also for themselves. Moreover, vulnerable countries actively influence the perception of climate change in their territory and of possible optimal responses. In doing so, they actively balance their own climate priorities and present themselves as competitive partners with which donor states can work to achieve the desired future for their own country.
Carmen Morant Albelda (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) Yunjeong Yang (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)
Paper long abstract:
The historical marginalization of indigenous populations in Latin America is exacerbated by environmental degradation, and also by often unjust development initiatives. Against this backdrop, this study conducted a critical analysis of Spanish aid-supported projects, with a focus on identifying the presence (or absence) of essential climate justice indicators. The research methodology entails a comprehensive desk review employing a content analysis of selected (13) energy projects in Latin America. Our proposed climate justice framework includes four categories: (i) acknowledgment of historical injustices, (ii) inclusion and participation of vulnerable [indigenous] communities, (iii) capacity-building opportunities, and (iv) job creation for indigenous people. The findings highlight the lack of transformative nature of the analyzed projects: over half of the projects demonstrated positive outcomes in one category only, with only a single project scoring positively in all four categories. The inclusion and participation of indigenous groups were observed in less than half of the projects, while most projects provided capacity-building opportunities. This research adds to a critical perspective in examining aid projects by suggesting a decolonial and just transition perspective.
Neha Yadav (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)
Paper long abstract:
This study focuses on Tehri Garhwal, a region emblematic of the socio-environmental injustices emerging in the context of climate change. It critically examines how climate change mitigation and adaptation intersect with the legacies of colonialism, yielding distinct forms of environmental and social injustice. By exploring the adaptive strategies employed in Tehri Garhwal, the research illuminates the nuanced realities of climate resilience within mountain communities. The methodology integrates an ethnographic approach with a historical analysis, providing insights into the community's socio-environmental dynamics and their evolution in response to climatic changes. The novelty of this research lies in its detailed examination of how local knowledge and traditional practices contribute to resilience, thereby challenging the dominant narratives of climate action that often overlook these grassroots strategies. This study adds a critical dimension to the discourse on climate justice by highlighting the disparities in climate change impacts and the differential capacities for adaptation and mitigation. It underscores the importance of recognizing and integrating local knowledge systems into broader climate policies. The findings reveal the complexities of negotiating climate resilience in a landscape marked by historical injustices and current socio-economic challenges. This research contributes to the ongoing discussion by advocating for more equitable and just climate policies that acknowledge the diverse realities of mountain communities, often side-lined in global climate debates. It calls for a rethinking of environmental justice in the context of climate change, emphasizing the need for policies that are both inclusive and reflective of the intricate socio-environmental fabric of vulnerable regions.
Jingyuan Wu (Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo)
Paper long abstract:
One facet of the international efforts for environmental justice involves Official Development Assistance (ODA) directed towards environmental sectors. This approach has prompted criticism, particularly with Western donors accused of imposing their environmental agendas on other nations, a phenomenon labeled as green colonialism. This study, however, by analyzing the justice and injustice within Japan's ODA, one of the most significant non-Western donors, argues that these outcomes are more unintentional consequences than deliberate interventions.
The study uses statistical data and official archives to analyze the following three perspectives: 1) The development of environmental and social safeguards policies, and its systematic flaws; 2) The funding pattern of environmental projects through grants or loans, revealing its allocation imbalances; 3) The transfer of knowledge on sustainability through technology cooperation, highlighting the problem of instrumental knowledge.
Procedural justice, exemplified by the development of environmental and social considerations and the increase in aid quotas for the environmental sector, emerges from the synthesis of international trends toward sustainability, criticism from civil society in Japan, and the transboundary environmental problems of neighboring countries. Despite these positive strides, the path-dependent nature of Japan's ODA and domestic politics have led to systematic distributional injustice. Furthermore, ODA has limited utility for corrective justice. This study contributes to the existing scholars by uncovering the roots of unintended environmental (un)justice on the donor side.
Wilda Mazidaturrizka (University College London) Kafi Khaibar Lubis Yoshinao Asanuma (University College London)
Paper long abstract:
The introduction of Jakarta's Low Emission Zone (LEZ), inspired by Global North practices, reveals challenges in applying environmental policies in diverse urban settings. Despite the success of LEZs in reducing air pollution in cities like Stockholm and London, Jakarta's unique dynamics and inadequate transport systems pose significant hurdles, challenging the viability of universal solutions. The LEZ, particularly implemented in Kota Tua, Jakarta, a heritage yet highly mobilised area, may disproportionately affect street vendors, local communities, motorbike users, and residents without access to public transport.
Incorporating Environmental Justice (EJ) into the LEZ framework is vital, covering Distributional, Procedural, and Recognitional Justice. Disparities in air pollution's impact on locals and tourists prompt questions about equitable distribution. The EJ framework aligns with Fraser's social justice model, including Redistribution, Representation, and Recognition for those affected by development. Integrating Socio-Environmental Justice into the LEZ policy is critical for addressing risk and benefit disparities. The lens of socio-environmental justice underscores the need to recognize the most vulnerable groups in policy planning. Parity of participation may fall short for vulnerable communities, with ongoing Recognitional Justice issues for local dwellers in ex-colonial zones.
Jakarta's socio-economic diversity and limited resources complicate LEZ implementation. Challenges may not solely lie in policy execution but in the LEZ framework itself, designed for Global North settings. This analysis stresses the importance of adapting environmental policies like LEZs to local contexts, ensuring they meet diverse population needs for sustainable urban development and climate resilience.
Asha Amirali (University of Bath)
Paper long abstract:
How to tackle the challenges posed by climate change when representative institutions do not represent most people? Using Pakistan as a case study, this paper probes the implications of the existence of a strong ‘just’ state discourse on global climate issues on the one hand and highly unjust social and environmental state practices on the other. Two inter-related questions relating to political strategy in this context are explored.
First, drawing on interviews with Pakistani political activists and civil society actors, the paper documents and analyses expectations and evaluations of inter-state dialogues such as the UN COPs. What can such dialogues achieve and what alternative national and international political possibilities are there for charting a more equitable and sustainable path forward? Second, while growing calls for climate reparations instantiate a strong ethical principle, politically they are beset by problems of representation. The question of who will be ‘repaired’ for example, was thrown into sharp relief as the Pakistani state championed the Loss and Damage Fund at COP 27 while simultaneously waging war within its own borders and presiding over large-scale suffering in 2022. The second part of the paper therefore explores perspectives on climate reparations as actors think through the issue from within the concrete specificities of the political fields they inhabit. General implications of the representational ‘gap’ in climate politics and emerging ideas for ways forward are developed by way of conclusion.
Pedro Alarcon (JLU Giessen) Ana Sanchez Ramos (IOB-University of Antwerp)
Paper long abstract:
Discourses on the climate crisis worldwide are informed by Global Northern narratives. In the South, after being digested, such narratives not only drive environmental discourses and policies but also feed into the formation of a historically critical concept to the periphery: development. In our research on Peru and Ecuador, traditional natural resource-exporting countries, we find antagonistic (post-)developmental discourses held by the national state during the juncture triggered by the imperative of the global energy transition towards low-carbon energy sources. On the one hand, the mainstream environmental discourse of sustainable development, with its key tenets of natural resources management and environmental protection, legitimizes the natural resource-led development model based on the extraction of raw material and its commodification in the global market without significant value added. On the other hand, supply-side climate policies, or measures directed to limit fossil fuel supply to comply with climate compromises, are gaining momentum in the light of COP28’s agreement to “transition away” from fossil fuels.
In this contribution we revisit (post-)developmental state discourses in Peru and Ecuador through the prism of the ongoing energy transition. We argue, on the one hand, that such discourses impact local environmental policymaking. On the other hand, we contend that the energy transition underway is bringing into question the concept of (post-)development itself. Furthermore, we argue that the insights of our case studies illustrate well the situation in similar natural resource-rich countries of the Global South.
Nikas Kindo (Tata Institute of Social Sciences)
Paper long abstract:
During the COP 26 meeting, India pledged a transformative shift in its energy sector, aiming to generate 75% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. Despite the global attention and India's ranking as the second-largest coal consumer, the post-announcement reality reveals an unexpected expansion in the coal sector, particularly evident in Jharkhand State. This region showcases a complex interplay between renewable energy initiatives and coal expansion projects, highlighting the challenges in aligning conceptual discussions with practical transformations on the ground. While strategic planning for a post-coal future is glimpsed in Jharkhand's diverse energy initiatives, the gap between high-level dialogues and tangible changes in coalfields persists. This paper explores three key facets: examining the macro-political economic landscape of coal mining in India, scrutinizing the complexities of new coal expansions, and addressing the imperative need for a just transition program in coal mine closures. Grounded in recent fieldwork in North Karanpura, Ramgarh, and Auranga in Jharkhand, the analysis provides a nuanced perspective on the critical concerns surrounding India's trajectory in coal consumption and carbon emission reduction. The narrative emphasizes the necessity for practical implications in regions directly affected by coal-related activities.
Rahul Ranjan (School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh)
Paper long abstract:
Over the decades since independence, the hydro project has mushroomed across the Himalayas. Posited as a visionary tool to strengthen the economic growth of postcolonial India, it has acquired an indisputable currency in the minds of city planners, infrastructure companies and big governmental conglomerates. Ranging from 100 MHz to a massive swell of barrage dams, the hydro project often brings renewed interest for both state and private companies. In particular, the state of Uttarakhand, a frontier Himalayan town, has seen unprecedented growth of projects – especially in the fragile ecosystems of the higher Himalayas.
This paper draws on ethnographic research and fieldwork conducted in Uttarakhand to make interrelated interventions in the debate on environmental justice in the Himalayas. First, it seeks to locate the problematic emergent vocabulary of ‘transition’ – often successfully deployed in run-of-the-river hydro projects. I show how these languages create an epistemic foundation for and create the conditions for entrenching systemic inequality distributed to caste, region and migration flow. Second, the paper exemplifies narratives of loss emerging from the context of forceful compensation given out to the survivors of disasters.
Using these two critical explorations, the paper situates the ongoing discussion on climate change vis-à-vis inequality in the Himalayas. Specifically, it fundamentally advances the intersectional scope of environmental justice within the Himalayas.