The missing nexus: taking meritocracy beliefs seriously in climate justice research

This article addresses a gap in the climate justice literature by focusing on the understudied relationship between meritocratic orientations and public perceptions of justice in the context of the climate crisis. As climate change exacerbates social and economic inequalities, meritocratic beliefs – which attribute success to individual effort or talent and reject redistributive policies – fuel resistance to climate policies. Despite the fact that they are widespread, particularly among the middle class, environmental and climate justice frameworks have yet to systematically engage with them. The article advocates for an interdisciplinary exchange between climate justice and sociological research on inequality beliefs. It argues that the relationship between redistribution and recognition needs to be explored with a focus on everyday justice reasoning in light of the decade-long growth of global economic inequalities and the polarization of skills and life chances. Discussing relevant sociological insights on meritocratic orientations, it identifies two key areas where this conversation can take place: research on attitudes to climate policies, including variants of climate skepticism, and the literature on just transitions. Both offer valuable opportunities for engaging with the processual origins of meritocratic beliefs and their impact on societal responses to ongoing green transformations.