Net zero and climate injustice

Context: Climate change actions should ensure distributive, commutative and corrective justice rather than focusing on net zero emissions targets, which is unjust for developing countries.

Global efforts to deal with climate change

• United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCC): is the bedrock of the principles of equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).
• Kyoto Protocol (1997):  Legally binding targets for industrialised countries to reduce overall Green House Gas emissions.
• Paris Agreement on climate change:
  • Developed countries promised to lead mitigation actions. 
  • Developing countries agreed to take legal obligations - undertaking domestic mitigation measures and reporting on their implementation as part of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
• Idea of net zero emissions by 2050.

Arguments against the idea of net-zero emissions targets:

• Against commutative justice: It strikes at the root of the basic tenets of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• Against distributive and corrective justice: It violates principles of equity and CBDR-RC based on historical responsibility.
  • Even though industrialisation in the developed countries is responsible for a emission that causes climate change, people of the developing countries are suffering disproportionately more.
• Undermines the achievement of a climate-just world: due to mismatch between the commitments of developed and developing nations -
  • The Climate Action Tracker reports that the climate action of major developed countries is incompatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement. (backtracked from Kyoto committments)
  • While on the other hand, India introduced climate sensitivity in domestic policies through interventions like energy for all, housing for all, health insurance and crop insurance, “Clean India”, and “give it up” campaigns, popularising yoga and sustainable lifestyle practices.

Way forward: To deal with climate change by referring to the three types of justices provided by Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics.

• Distributive justice: It pertains to how resources should be distributed in terms of principles of equality, equity and merit. 
  • Ensure distributive climate justice in the implementation of the Paris Agreement: by focusing on ensuring ambitious climate action by developed countries in the near term.
• Commutative justice: It refers to agreements or commitments and other kinds of social contracts. Ensure it by fulfilling the past commitments made by developed countries. E.g.
  • Take on the targets in the second commitment period (starting December 2020) of Kyoto Protocol.
  • Meet their climate finance goal: i.e. the goal of jointly mobilising at least $100 billion per year by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries. 
• Corrective justice: It pertains to the righting of wrongs.
  • Developed countries need to repay the climate debt by shouldering greater mitigation responsibilities and providing finance, technology and capacity-building support to safeguard the interest of the poor and vulnerable people in developing countries.

Conclusion: It is now time that developed countries rose to the occasion and ensured climate justice by leading climate action responsibly.