Abstract
The impact of the climate crisis is mediated by the specific characteristics of the societies it affects. In other words, its main risk is that it acts as a multiplier and intensifier or pre-existing conflicts. For this reason, societies must not only work to mitigate the causes but also need to be able to minimize the societal cost of extreme weather events. That is to say: whether to mitigate it, to adapt to it, or to avoid the consequences of not doing so, climate change will completely transform the societies in which we live. What is in dispute, then, is the meaning, rhythm and scope of these changes. That is: who will benefit and who will bear the cost. It is debated whether the ecological transition will be a lever for greater social justice and democratization or if, on the contrary, it will deepen the global trends towards greater inequality and more authoritarian regimes. In this sense, undoing the contradiction between quality of life in the short term and the natural conditions that sustain it in the medium and long term is the great challenge of a just ecological transition. This research focuses on analyzing whether the concept of sustainability is able to untie the knot of the aforementioned contradiction and to help us imagine decarbonized, democratic, and socially just societies or if we will need other ways to achieve climate justice.
Presenters
Alberto José Franco BarreraSubstitute Professor, Political and Moral Philosophy, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Economic, Social, and Cultural Context
KEYWORDS
Sustainability, Climate Justice, Just Transition, Social Justice, Democratization
