Climate justice is not just ice

Discussions about climate change and justice frequently employ dichotomies of procedural and distributive justice, and inter- and intra-generational justice. These distinctions, however, often fail to acknowledge the diverse experience of climate risks, or the contested nature of many proposed solutions. This paper argues for a reassessment of debates about climate justice based upon a greater diversity of risks and solutions such as integrating the reduction of social vulnerability simultaneously with mitigation. In effect, this implies reassessing the implicit use of Rawls’ model of justice as fair allocation of predefined risks and solutions, and instead considering Sen’s understanding of justice as inclusive debate about which risks require which solutions.