Climate Justice Practices in the Anthropocene: Assessing Strategies of Human Rights and Gender Advocacy Networks in the UNFCCC

Citation

Wallbott L & Schapper A (2016) Climate Justice Practices in the Anthropocene: Assessing Strategies of Human Rights and Gender Advocacy Networks in the UNFCCC. In: Matthew R, Harron C, Goodrich K, Maharramli B & Nizkorodov E (eds.) The Social Ecology of the Anthropocene: Continuity and Change in Global Environmental Politics. The WSPC Reference on Natural Resources and Environmental Policy in the Era of Global Change, 2. Singapore: World Scientific, pp. 367-391. http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/9747-vol2; https://doi.org/10.1142/9789813208162_0016

Abstract
In this chapter, we complement the dominant functionalist narrative on the geological character of the Anthropocene with a political perspective that takes into account that anthropogenic impacts on the Earth’s ecosystems go along with diverging vulnerabilities to these effects. Taking the issue of climate change politics we argue that it is vital to understand the climate justice claims and practices that different groups of actors employ to shape policy responses to this anthropogenic phenomenon. Therefore, we first engage with the existing literature on climate justice focusing on societal inequalities. Second, we introduce the concept of “practice” to capture the strategies and goals of different climate justice advocates. Third, we analyze concrete social practices through which transnational human rights networks and organizations that promote gender equality attempt to realize their specific justice claims in negotiations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). We show that the meaning of justice in the face of anthropogenic climate change develops in social practices across scales. Methodologically, our analysis is based on review of primary documents, secondary literature, participatory observation and semistructured expert interviews with representatives of the different stakeholder groups at UNFCCC negotiations in Warsaw (2013), Bonn (2014) and via Skype/phone.