Crossing the gap of a half degree: What are the justice implications of the 1.5°C pathway?

What is it about?

In 2015, the historic Paris agreement saw nations pledging to limit the global average temperature increase to within 2°C above pre-industrial levels. This requires major carbon emission cutdowns and is integral if we are to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. While this goal in itself is ambitious, climate scientists are now focused on reducing emissions to within 1.5°C. While the 2°C pathway allowed some leeway for developing nations, the stringent 1.5°C pathway would drastically limit the energy options. The quick switch from fossil fuels to better alternatives under the latter path can be more challenging for marginalised communities and developing countries, leading to an increase in economic and resource disparities. The authors of this paper suggest that this complex social and political context necessitates an interdisciplinary, integrative, and radical approach while planning the 1.5°C pathway. For example, the implementation of photovoltaic cells, a non-carbon energy source, requires the interdisciplinary cooperation of small-scale actors, supply chains and institutional frameworks, integration at a national scale for grid expansion plans and financing, and radical redistributive solutions like ethical technology transfer to avoid imbalanced wealth creation.

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Addressing climate change by meeting the 1.5°C window is integral to redressing global injustices. Developing strategies that deliver distributional justice – ensuring a fair allocation of the burdens and benefits of the transition – and procedural justice – where the concerns of all affected people are heard and considered – is important to ensure that sustainable development is ensured, and inequities are not created. KEY TAKEAWAY: The study emphasises the importance of making space for distributional and procedural justice in the 1.5°C transition through fair and inclusive processes.