Climate justice

Climate justice means equitable solutions to climate change which are based on the rights, needs, participation, and agreement of the communities who are feeling the greatest impact of climate change or who will be affected by mitigation attempts.

Climate justice and sustainable livelihoods are closely linked, since community management of resources that support livelihoods offers a better chance of long term sustainability than top-down development schemes which serve the interests of national and international business elites, and reinforce global inequality.

Indonesian civil society protest in Copenhagen, December 2009

Down to Earth No.79, November 2008


International pressure to get pilot schemes for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD) up and running between now and the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009 could mean that crucial issues - including land and resource rights in forests - are sidestepped.


Why the pressure for REDD? Land use change and forestry are estimated to account for around 20% of annual carbon emissions, second only to the energy sector.

Down to Earth No. 76-77 May 2008

This report is based on information from a field visit by DTE staff to Meratus in 2008, and from the South Kalimantan based NGO, LPMA

For indigenous peoples like the Meratus Dayak of South Kalimantan, farming is not only a means to obtain food, but also forms part of the customary (adat) rituals that have been passed down the generations.