“Essentially, climate justice lies at the nexus of climate change and human rights, and seeks to focus on what impacts climate change has on the most marginalised and disenfranchised in our global community,” said Mrs Robinson.
“The lens of climate justice brings what can be an abstract and quite abstruse phenomenon into sharp and immediate focus … and really illuminates the human face of climate change and the devastation that it can cause to the poorest,” she said.
According to Mrs Robinson, our collective and individual mindset in the developed world needs to make a shift from competitiveness and short-term economic goals to one that is more people-centred, and that considers the needs of communities.
This approach, says Mrs Robinson, may address the needs of those in developing countries who “are suffering most but have contributed least,” to climate change.
“Climate justice incorporates the principal of corrective justice; the idea that the wealthiest nations, who have disproportionately contributed to the stock of emissions through their use of fossil fuel resources, have a moral obligation to address the problems experienced by those nations which have historically made almost no contribution to the level of these emissions; this moral obligation must be used to persuade major emitters that they have to make deep cuts and, as a matter of urgency, significant absolute reductions in green house gas emissions,” said Mrs Robinson.
Mrs Robinson believes that poorer countries, who have not caused the current problems but who are suffering the most from the effects, are in fact the least able to deal with climate change.
“The 50 least developed countries in the world are responsible for less than 1 per cent of the green house gas emissions … that puts the justice picture in the right frame,” said Mrs Robinson, who continued by saying that on her recent visit to Somalia and the Horn of Africa, she witnessed the extent of the impact of climate change on the people there.
“It was a very difficult visit because very shortly after arriving there, I realised that the situation is so much worse on every count,” she said.
Somalia, as a country, has not had a properly functioning government since Mrs Robinson’s visit 19 years ago as President of Ireland. At present, little food is commercially available, and what short supply there is cannot be afforded or purchased by those who most need it, due to exorbitant prices.
“I was very struck that the Horn of Africa has suffered the eight hottest years ever recorded in the last eight years,” said Mrs Robinson, while commenting on the empirical impact of climate change on the region.
“Climate scientists and Dr Tara Shine, who works for me in the office of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice, are prudent and hesitant to directly attribute, but there is no doubt in my mind that when you have the eight hottest years and prolonged drought, then we are seeing the beginnings of those impacts,” said Mrs Robinson.
Speaking of the global response to the crisis in Somalia and the response to aid agencies calls for assistance, Mrs Robinson said she felt that the situation has not had the degree of support that she and others would have wished. “I felt a sense of anger and outrage that, in the 21st century, we were declaring famine anywhere in the world; it’s not just a problem for the Somali people … it’s a problem of engagement of all of us,” said Mrs Robinson, who added that Irish people have responded ‘extremely generously.’
The Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice
“It’s the recognition of the human rights dimension of climate change that encouraged me to come back to Ireland, and being delighted to do that and to start the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice,” said Mrs Robinson.
The foundation puts forward a vision for how climate justice can influence and shape negotiations on climate change and, in Mrs Robinson’s words, “ultimately lead to equitable burden sharing and greater equality through financial assistance and technology transfer.”
Legal implications of climate change
“Despite the litigation possibilities afforded by viewing climate change as a human rights issue, there is still the need to secure a legally binding agreement under the auspices of the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change),” said Mrs Robinson.
It may be possible to achieve political agreement on certain issues, but Mrs Robinson believes that these are often agreed upon on the whims of incumbent governments, and can therefore wax and wane along with political priorities.
“A legally binding agreement would ensure that richer nations provide adequate financial and technical support to enable the poorest countries to adapt to climate change,” she added, noting that the absence of a legally binding agreement means there is no obligation to act, and that time for action passes by.
Mrs Robinson said she hoped the EU and Ireland would continue to play a constructive role in discussions on climate change, and that she hoped the EU could offer the type of leadership that the world is crying out for.
“Given our history, suffering the effects of famine ourselves, given the fact that we are a developing country, without colonial baggage … Ireland, I believe, is uniquely positioned to play a valuable role as a bridge between the EU and the developing world,” said Mrs Robinson.
