Climate justice
A greener recovery from the pandemic Patrick Schröder and Tahseen Jafry on measures to help the poorest in their struggle for survival
Two young Kenyan girls force a swarm of locusts to take flight as it threatens to devour pasture on which the village’s cattle feed. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization described the locust infestation as a threat to food security
During the spring and summer of 2020, countries in sub-Saharan Africa were facing a food crisis. Unusually heavy rains, floods and locust swarms had devastated crops across East Africa. On top of this, the coronavirus crisis delayed delivery of agricultural equipment, pesticides and fertilizers, while lockdown restrictions prevented farmers from transporting produce and livestock to markets. According to the World Food Programme, more than 40 million people are still facing severe food shortages.
The case of sub-Saharan Africa demonstrates that there is a link between the impacts of climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. Around the world, communities are experiencing the effects of climate change in different ways, but many of those disproportionately affected are the same people who suffer the socio-economic effects of COVID-19.
This fact has given added importance to the issue of climate justice, which recognizes that it is the poorest and most vulnerable people – who have contributed least to carbon emissions and climate change – who are suffering the most. Facing the long-term risks from a changing climate but also the onslaught of extreme weather events, the poorest are least able to respond to these phenomena that damage their already fragile environments.
Recognizing humanity’s responsibility for the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the poorest in society, climate justice seeks to reduce inequality and promote transformative approaches to addressing the root causes of climate change.
So, what role can the international community play to safeguard the lives and livelihood of the many millions of people who are at the forefront of climate change?
The issue of embodying climate justice in post-Covid recovery plans is now moving to the centre of political debate in wealthy societies. But that does not address vulnerabilities in the developing world. The United Nations University estimates that COVID-19 poses a real challenge to the Sustainable Development Goal of ending poverty by 2030 – instead, the number of people living in poverty could increase by between 420 million and 580 million compared with 2018.
Because of the economic effects of supply chain disruptions associated with COVID-19, the number of people worldwide suffering from food insecurity could double from about 135 million in 2019
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16 | the world today | october & november 2020
