Mitigation justice

Peter B. Reich, Kathryn Grace, Arun Agrawal, Harini Nagendra

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Mitigating climate change and social injustice are critical, interwoven challenges. Climate change is driven by grossly unequal contributions to elevated greenhouse gas emissions among individuals, socioeconomic groups, and nations. Yet, its deleterious impacts disproportionately affect poor and less powerful nations, and the poor and the less powerful within each nation. This climate injustice prompts a call for mitigation strategies that buffer the poorest and the most vulnerable against climate change impacts. Unfortunately, all emissions mitigation strategies also reshape social, economic, political, and ecological processes in ways that may create climate change mitigation injustices—i.e., a unique set of injustices not caused by climate change, but by the strategies designed to stem it. Failing to stop climate change is not an answer—this will swamp all adverse impacts of even unjust mitigation in terms of the scope and scale of disastrous consequences. However, mitigation without justice will create uniquely negative consequences for the more vulnerable. The ensuing analysis systematically assesses how climate change mitigation strategies can generate or ameliorate injustices. We first examine how climate science and social justice interact within and among countries. We then ask what there is to learn from the available evidence on how emissions reductions, well-being, and equity have unfolded in a set of countries. Finally, we discuss the intersection between emissions reduction and mitigation justice through actions in important domains including energy, technology, transport, and food systems; nature-based solutions; and policy and governance.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2411231122
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume122
Issue number17
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Apr 2025
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2025 the Author(s).

Keywords

  • climate change
  • climate change mitigation
  • climate justice
  • climate mitigation justice
  • justice

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