Climate Justice Business: An In-Depth Series

Climate change and inequality are two of the biggest social challenges of our time. And while climate change affects us all, the worst impacts fall on the world’s most vulnerable people. Inequalities based on factors such as gender, race, and geography exacerbate risks to people’s lives and livelihoods. In transitioning to a low-carbon, resource-efficient and socially inclusive green economy, people will be less likely and less able to participate.

In this way, both climate change and inequality drive extreme poverty and successfully addressing them requires confronting each other. In recent years, the idea of ​​climate justice – finding ways to solve problems related to climate change and addressing injustice – has become central to climate change discourse in low-income countries. Young people, and among marginalized groups, including Indigenous peoples, women and girls of color, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities. It has become increasingly important in international discussions on climate change, including the official recognition of its importance in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

All sectors have a role to play in achieving climate justice, but compared to government and civil society, business has lagged behind in addressing climate change and systemic social injustice, and is often cited as a contributor to both problems. In addition, businesses that have begun to engage in the practice have traditionally viewed them as separate issues. However, with the various consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, pressure from investors and consumers, increasing political action on climate change, and greater awareness of the risks associated with inaction, many companies are beginning to take on both challenges at the same time, and move climate justice up the corporate agenda. .

This article series, Fight Poverty in Partnership with the Social Impact Community, explores why climate justice is a concern for businesses, how companies can put climate justice principles into practice, and solutions emerging from various industries. Action.