Against the background of the contemporary climate crisis, the search for “climate justice” has acquired particular theoretical and practical significance. This article examines philosophical, legal, social, anthropological and economic concepts of justice in their historical evolution and in connection with international climate regulation. The purpose of the study is to identify how different models of justice shape the contemporary understanding of climate justice and influence the development of international legal mechanisms in this field. The article argues that climate justice cannot be reduced to a single principle or final definition. Rather, it should be understood as a normative and analytical lens through which existing international law (lex lata) and possible future law (lex ferenda) may be assessed from the perspective of the distribution of obligations, burdens, benefits and risks among States, social groups and generations. The methodological basis of the research includes systemic analysis, historical-legal and comparative-legal methods, as well as a pluralist approach enabling the consideration of legal, economic and social factors in their interrelation. The scientific novelty of the article lies in developing a theoretical and legal understanding of climate justice as a specific normative and analytical lens for international climate regulation. The study demonstrates that climate justice combines moral requirements of fair distribution, legal mechanisms of international law and the economic conditions necessary for their practical implementation. It concludes that the limited effectiveness of the existing international climate regime is linked to a conflict between different understandings of justice: historical responsibility, protection of vulnerable groups, intergenerational equity, economic efficiency and political feasibility. The article therefore substantiates the need for a flexible pluralist international legal model capable of improving the international climate regime.
Kseniia Anatol'evna Gavaza (Sun,) studied this question.