Climate Justice

Climate change is not only an environmental issue but also a human issue with direct implications for jobs, health, food, and lives, and therefore a matter of justice. The subject of Climate Justice approaches climate change as a social issue linking it to equality and human rights. The aim of climate justice is to safeguard the rights of the most vulnerable people and to share the burdens of climate change equitably and fairly, not only between but also within countries. And just as the global Sustainable Development Goals are applicable within the EU, so does a concept of climate justice need to be considered in terms of domestic and EU policy, for a transition to a low carbon society. With this hearing, the EESC wants to strengthen the role of climate justice, in domestic EU climate policies, and examine climate justice through the lens of those who are affected by climate change. The hearing will explore climate justice in various domestic policy areas in the EU, such as employment policies, agriculture and food, energy and consumer protection.

Representatives from think thanks and civil society organisations will engage in a dialogue on the concept of climate justice that considers climate action together with a social dimension. The results of this hearing will feed into an own-initiative opinion on climate justice the EESC is currently preparing.