Reviewing and Reframing
The Role of Clinical Legal Education in Advancing Climate Justice: An Important Case Study View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Hubert Algie, Isobel Graham, Emma Jackson, Malvina Hagedorn
The Monash University, Climate Justice Clinic (CJC) - a scalable and practical solution for the education and development of climate justice law and movement lawyering. Providing climate justice specific clinical legal education, the CJC offers legal support to a number of leading national organisations within the climate justice movement. The CJC aims to improve and shape Australia’s law, policy and action on Climate Change. The CJC is led and supervised by two experienced solicitors form leading national/international law firms, providing a unique opportunity for university law students to be exposed to diverse actors within the Australian climate justice movement, developments in climate litigation, and the intersection of law and policy within the broader socio-political context. The CJC is a unique, scalable and an adaptable solution to practical legal education within the Climate Justice Movement. CJC aims to ensure students enter their legal careers ready and able to assist in responding to the climate crisis. Topics considered include: (1) The need for legal education to cultivate a mature, compassionate, and resilient mindset in students to allow them to pursue climate justice in a healthy and sustainable fashion. (2) the benefits of the CJC’s “movement lawyering” approach; (3) importance of inter-disciplinary partnerships within the existing environmental movement; (4) examples of legal work undertaken by the CJC to date and its impact on past students; (5) Importance of in-depth reading and guest speaker program to support students’ deepening understanding of the climate crisis and the various roles the law has within that movement.
A Climate Justice Based Model for Carbon Budget Allocation View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Malcolm Fabiyi
Current Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) and general carbon budget models do not sufficiently account for climate justice in their allocations of future emissions. To address these limitations, several modeling frameworks such as equal per capita (EPC) and per capita convergence (PCC) that aim to incorporate fairness and justice more comprehensively into emissions attribution and carbon budget allocation have emerged. We propose a novel integrated attribution – allocation (IAA) model construct that robustly incorporates three equity principles of responsibility, capability, and equality into the estimation of carbon budget emissions allocations. Results demonstrate that simple reductions of responsibility for climate action to categories such as global south vs global north and developed vs developing cannot be established a priori as methodologies for fairly and justly assigning emissions rights and mitigation obligations.
Climate Change Impacts on Marginalized Populations: Key Insights from a Response Framework and Launch of a Knowledge Mobilization Initiative View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mariya Bezgrebelna, Sean Kidd
The effects of climate change disproportionately impact the health and well-being of marginalized populations, especially those living in poverty as well as the precariously housed and homeless populations. Addressing these issues requires a systematic approach grounded in the best available evidence and a robust knowledge mobilization strategy. Such an approach is much needed at the climate change-poverty nexus which represents a major global health concern with stakeholders (e.g., policymakers and service providers) increasingly seeking guidance. This work thus aims to contribute to the field of climate change and health by advancing a global response framework and discussing its implications for Canada. The framework was developed by synthesizing current knowledge on the subject and by drawing on pertinent examples. The syntheses included the results of two systematic reviews and multiple think tanks and feedback sessions held with experts in the field. The result is the first comprehensive global response framework in this area with relevance to future research directions, policy interventions, and service system design. This framework is an initial step towards consolidating the best available guidance related to the pressing concern of how climate change is influencing and shaping housing-related vulnerabilities. The knowledge mobilization initiative examines the climate change-poverty-health nexus in Canada, focusing on the implications for policy and research.
