By Prof. Kariuki Muigua SC, OGW, Ph.D, FCS, FCIArb, Ch.Arb, Managing Partner, Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates & Member, Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
1.0 Introduction: The Interlinked Crisis of Climate, Justice, and Movement
This paper establishes climate change as a fundamental threat to sustainable development, but one whose impacts are profoundly unequal. It frames climate change not just as an environmental issue, but as a core environmental justice concern due to its disproportionate effects on vulnerable groups and nations. Simultaneously, climate change acts as a key driver of human mobility (displacement, migration, relocation), creating complex challenges for peace and security. The central argument is that addressing the nexus between these three elements—climate change, environmental justice, and human mobility—is essential for a sustainable future, and that law and policy are critical tools for this task.
2.0 The Disproportionate Impacts: Injustice and Displacement
The analysis details the dual, reinforcing crises caused by climate change.
- Climate Change as an Environmental Justice Issue:
- The concept of environmental justice recognizes that the burdens of environmental harm, including from climate change, are not borne equally. It highlights the plight of vulnerable communities who contribute the least to the problem but suffer the most.
- Impacted Groups: The paper identifies a clear pattern of disproportionate vulnerability among: the global poor, indigenous peoples, women and girls, youth, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and communities across the Global South.
- Climate Justice: As a subset of environmental justice, climate justice specifically focuses on redressing these uneven impacts and advocating for fair, inclusive solutions that prioritize the most affected and protect human rights.
- Climate Change as a Driver of Human Mobility:
- Climate change is a “threat multiplier” that forces movement through resource scarcity, environmental degradation, and disasters.
- Forms of Mobility: It drives forced displacement (sudden-onset disasters), influences migration decisions (slow-onset changes like drought), and necessitates planned relocation.
- Consequences: This mobility disrupts lives and livelihoods, complicates access to essential services (violating human rights), and can increase competition for scarce resources in host areas, potentially leading to conflict and instability.
3.0 Addressing the Nexus: A Framework for Justice and Resilience
The paper proposes that effective action requires integrated strategies centered on justice and robust governance.
- Pillar 1: Upholding Environmental and Climate Justice
- Empowerment through Process: Vulnerable groups must have access to environmental information, meaningful participation in climate decision-making, and access to justice to hold actors accountable.
- Financing Justice: Adequate and timely climate finance is essential for vulnerable countries and groups to invest in adaptation, clean technology, and resilience, thereby addressing inequities.
- Legal Foundations: International agreements like the Paris Agreement provide a framework for integrating justice, human rights, and equity into climate action.
- Pillar 2: Governing Climate-Related Human Mobility
- International Recognition: Frameworks like the Cancun Adaptation Framework and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction now formally recognize climate change as a driver of mobility, mandating improved understanding and cooperation.
- Key Strategies: Effective management involves minimizing disaster risks in vulnerable countries, including migrants and displaced persons in risk-reduction planning, and ensuring access to essential services for those displaced.
4.0 Conclusion: An Integrated Pathway Forward
The paper concludes that tackling climate change effectively requires confronting the linked challenges of environmental injustice and human mobility. The path forward is not purely technological but fundamentally legal and political. It demands strengthened laws and policies that actively promote environmental and climate justice while humanely managing climate-induced movement. Achieving this integrated approach is imperative for securing a sustainable, equitable, and secure future for both people and the planet.
