Climate Action
8 Ways Climate Change is Unjust, and Why It Matters on World Day for International Justice
July 17, 2025
July 17 marks World Day for International Justice, a day not only to defend legal rights but to confront global oppression, which includes environmental injustice. Climate change is often described as a universal threat, but in reality, it is anything but equal. Across islands, deserts, coastlines, and marginalized communities, a clear and devastating pattern emerges: those least responsible for the climate crisis are the ones suffering its most severe impacts, while those with power and wealth insulate themselves from harm.
This isn’t a coincidence. It reflects a deeply entrenched system of global inequity. Climate change is not a great equalizer; it exacerbates systemic inequality, punishing those who did the least to cause it like the Global South. A 2023 study shows that by 2050 the Global North will owe US$192 trillion in fair reparations to the Global South for their environmental impacts.
Here are eight important ways climate change is fundamentally unfair.
1. Women, Youth, and Indigenous People Lead, but Are Left Out
Women, youth and indigenous peoples depend heavily on natural systems and are disproportionately affected by climate disasters. Yet they are often excluded from decision-making. Although young people everywhere will inherit the climate crisis, Global South youth are underrepresented in decision-making spaces like COP negotiations or international climate forums. Despite this, frontline initiatives led by women, youth and indigenous people are among the most effective climate solutions. Their exclusion from policy forums represents a profound injustice.
2. Tiny Island Nations Are Paying for the World’s Pollution
Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including Tuvalu, Kiribati, and the Maldives, contribute less than 0.03 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet they are on the front lines of rising seas, extreme cyclones, saltwater intrusion, and eroding shorelines. Tuvalu, with an average elevation under 2 m, will see 50 % of Funafuti submerged by 2050, and up to 95 % by 2100. Meanwhile, Kiribati is losing land: two islets disappeared after 1999, and sea levels rose 5-11 cm in 30 years.
3. Developing Nations Drown in Debt to Adapt
Adapting to climate change, through sea walls to resilient agriculture, requires $215–387 billion annually, yet most receiving countries spend more on debt servicing. Global South debt repayments have surged, with an average of 38 % of revenue going to creditors—leaving scant funds for adaptation. Africa, meanwhile, loses as much as 5 % of GDP per year to climate shocks while receiving just 1 % of global climate finance. Calculations find that of nearly $116 billion in financing reported by rich nations in 2022, only $28–35 billion was real climate finance, and just $15 billion aimed at adaptation.
4. Wealthy Nations Buy Protection—Others Are Left Exposed
High-income countries often cushion disasters with insurance, relief packages, and rebuilding funds. Low-income nations lack such safety nets. In 2022, Pakistan—which emits under 1 % of global emissions—suffered devastating floods killing over 1,200 people and causing losses exceeding $40 billion. By contrast, wealthy states can mobilize trillions to rebuild after similar catastrophes.
5. Fossil Fuel Corporations Profit While People Suffer
Oil and gas companies continue extracting record profits – $2.7 trillion in 2023, or ~$6.6 billion daily – while communities in extraction zones endure polluted air, contaminated water, and high cancer rates. Indigenous communities in the Niger Delta, for example, live under constant threat of oil spills, health crises, and destroyed livelihoods.
6. Climate Migration Is Punished, Not Protected
Rising seas, droughts, and floods displace millions. Yet the 1951 Refugee Convention doesn’t recognize climate as a cause, meaning many climate migrants fall outside refugee protections. Instead of welcoming them, countries like those in the EU, U.S., and Australia respond with deterrence, border fortification, and criminalization. Meanwhile, the emissions fueling their decision to flee originated far from their homes.
7. Climate Colonialism in Land Use and Conservation
Efforts to “offset” emissions through tree planting and conservation sometimes displace Indigenous peoples or rural farmers under the guise of green development. From REDD+ schemes to carbon markets, large-scale land grabs are often driven by Global North companies seeking to “balance” their emissions, creating new forms of climate colonialism.
8. Disaster Response Is Racialized and Unequal
In wealthier nations, disaster relief and recovery often prioritize refugee‑hosting donor nations & strategic partners. Internationally, Global South countries face delayed aid, restrictive conditions, or denial of support altogether. For example, Haiti’s repeated requests for post-earthquake and climate-related recovery funds have been met with donor fatigue and bureaucratic roadblocks.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Across islands, deserts, coastlines, and marginalized communities, a clear and devastating pattern emerges: those least responsible for the climate crisis are the ones suffering its most severe impacts, while those with power and wealth insulate themselves from harm. This isn’t a coincidence—it reflects a deeply entrenched system of global inequity.
On World Day for International Justice, it’s essential to spotlight this imbalance and recognize that meaningful climate action must go beyond carbon metrics; it must confront and correct these injustices. That means canceling climate debt so adaptation doesn’t fall on those already suffering; holding polluters accountable through enforceable legal responsibility; delivering real, unconditional finance that prioritizes grants over loans; and centering frontline voices, especially women, Indigenous peoples, and Global South leaders, in decision-making and resource allocation. Climate justice is not an act of charity, it is a matter of fairness, dignity, and survival. Until the global community recognizes it as such, the planet’s most vulnerable will continue to bear the heaviest burden for a crisis they did not create.
One way that you can take action to support environmental justice and global health is by signing the Global Plastics Treaty. Every signature helps reduce plastic pollution; a major threat to ecosystems, biodiversity, climate, and human well-being. Your voice matters, and collective action can drive meaningful change.
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