The Glasgow Climate Pact and Climate Justice

The Outcomes of the Glasgow Climate Change Conference may be found here. These are referred to as “Advance Unedited Versions (AUVs)”. The advance unedited versions of the decisions taken at the Glasgow Climate Change Conference are listed (below) by governing body. The full reports will be published in due course. (We suspect there will be little, if any editing applied to the final documents.)

We draw your attention to the final version of the Glasgow Climate Pact. (The overall decisions … statements, etc. )

The opening paragraphs of the Glasgow Climate Pact are tendered below:


The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling decisions 1/CP.19, 1/CP.20, 1/CP.21, 1/CP.22, 1/CP.23, 1/CP.24 and 1/CP.25,

Noting decisions 1/CMP.16 and 1/CMA.3,

Recognizing the role of multilateralism and the Convention, including its processes and principles, and the importance of international cooperation in addressing climate change and its impacts, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty,

Acknowledging the devastating impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and the importance of ensuring a sustainable, resilient and inclusive global recovery, showing solidarity particularly with developing country Parties,

Recognizing the important advances made through the UNFCCC multilateral process since 1994, including in the context of the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement,

Acknowledging that climate change is a common concern of humankind, Parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to development, as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity,

Noting the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including in forests, the ocean and the cryosphere, and the protection of biodiversity, recognized by some cultures as Mother Earth, and also noting the importance for some of the concept of ‘climate justice’, when taking action to address climate change,


The wording on climate justice above refers to the importance for some. This is an misapprehension of the ambit of climate justice. Climate Justice is for everyone, not some. Climate Justice is for all.

We note in COP Document 3a on Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, (found here) that a similar rendering of text is given:

(the document)


Advance unedited version

Draft decision -/CP.26

Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling decisions 1/CP.21 and 2/CP.24,

Also recalling decision 2/CP.23, in particular paragraph 8, in which it recommended that the processes under the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, including its operationalization, take into account, inter alia, the interests and views of local communities and indigenous peoples as well as the following principles proposed by indigenous peoples organizations: full and effective participation of indigenous peoples; equal status of indigenous peoples and Parties, including in leadership roles; self-selection of representatives of indigenous peoples in accordance with their own procedures; and adequate funding from the secretariat and voluntary contributions to enable the functions of the Platform,

Acknowledging that Parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to development, as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity,

Noting the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including oceans, and the protection of biodiversity, recognized by some cultures as Mother Earth, and the importance for some of the concept of ‘climate justice’ when taking action to address climate change,

Recognizing the role of local communities and indigenous peoples in relation to the stewardship of and living in harmony with nature,

Also recognizing the important role of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform in bringing together Parties and indigenous peoples and local communities to work towards achieving the objectives of the Convention and the Paris Agreement,


The wording on climate justice above refers to the importance for some. Again, this is an misapprehension of the ambit of climate justice. Climate Justice does not only apply to Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples; it applies to Urban communities, Cities and residents in manufacturing, regional and rural areas. Climate Justice is for everyone, not some. Climate Justice is for all.

The 2021 IPCC Summary for Policy Makers reports observed warming of the Earth’s surface, attribution of observed warming to human activities, projected increases in future global mean temperature, rising sea levels, and increased frequency of heat waves. One of the key messages that comes out very strongly from this report is that we are already seeing the consequences of 1°C of global warming through more extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice, among other changes. This affects the entire planet, all who reside on this planet, not, as per the Glasgow Climate pact, not just those seeking climate justice, or “some” of the Earth’s population as the Glasgow pact puts it.

 

From the Summary for Policy Makers:
A. The Current State of the Climate
A.1 It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.
A.2 The scale of recent changes across the climate system as a whole and the present state of many aspects of the climate system are unprecedented over many centuries to many thousands of years.
A.3 Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. Evidence of observed changes in extremes such as heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and tropical cyclones, and, in particular, their attribution to human influence, has strengthened since the Fifth Assessment Report.
A.4 Improved knowledge of climate processes, paleoclimate evidence and the response of the climate system to increasing radiative forcing gives a best estimate of equilibrium climate sensitivity of 3°C, with a narrower range compared to the Fifth Assessment Report.

 

This gives a radically different condition of the climate and effects of the climate appear to be applicable to all on this planet, what the Glasgow Climate Pact called “Mother Earth”. Yet, the Glasgow Climate Pact says only a few are affected → the importance for some of the concept of ‘climate justice’ when taking action to address climate change.

 

Climate Justice is for all

 


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Tags: Climate Justice is for all, The Glasgow Climate Pact and Climate Justice