Climate Reparations

REMAKING THE WORLD

The development of the modern global system has caused unimaginable harm. 

This harm encompasses both the violent seizure of human beings and resources at the core of colonialism and the inequity of the fossil fuel economy that grew out of it. Over time, nations that enriched themselves through theft became wealthier by burning fossil fuels. And today, nations impoverished by colonialism cannot afford the infrastructure, the health care, or—given the specialized barbarism of international finance—the loans needed to protect their citizens against the crisis, much less to invest in renewable energy.

Climate reparations offer harm reduction and, if implemented robustly, transformation. Because resources were stolen by colonizing nations from countries that are now climate vulnerable, they must be returned.

Climate reparations are compensation from high-emissions, low-vulnerability countries—those most responsible for climate impacts—to low-emissions, high-vulnerability countries—those most harmed. Reparations will also establish new governance systems to address climate change equitably.

Island nations, later joined by other developing nations, youth groups, and civil society groups, started advocating for a “loss and damage” fund 30 years ago. Funding would offset the costs of climate devastation within their borders that they had not caused—a step toward climate reparations. In a major breakthrough, the UN’s 2022 climate conference established a loss and damage fund. Activists from around the world are pushing for further advances on enforcement and scale.

“In order to repair individual communities as well as the global community, all those engaged in the reparative effort will have to squarely confront the deep moral questions posed by both the initiating harm—excess emissions—and the continuing harm: the failure to adequately include the plight of the climate vulnerable in the current processes developed to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis.”
–MAXINE BURKETT, ORIGINATOR OF THE CONCEPT OF CLIMATE REPARATIONS

OCEAN WARMING INCREASES THE DEADLINESS OF STORMS. IN 2013, TYPHOON HAIYAN DEVASTATED THE PHILIPPINES, INCLUDING TACLOBAN, SHOWN HERE. IT KILLED 6300 PEOPLE AND PERMANENTLY DISPLACED 4 MILLION MORE.

• Sources

  Maxine Burkett quote
  Social Science Research Network (SSRN): Climate Reparations

  Present-day climate vulnerability is connected to colonialism
  United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Summary for Policymakers
  Global Citizen: What Is Climate Colonialism? What to Know About Why Climate Change and Colonialism Are Linked.
  Bristol University Press: More than a metaphor: ‘climate colonialism’ in perspective

  Definition and history of loss and damage
  Chatham House: What is loss and damage?
  Cambridge University Press: The United States Agrees to Loss and Damage Fund at COP27

  Who has been advocating for a Loss and Damage Fund
  Loss and Damage Collaboration: Who We Are

  UN’s 2022 climate conference established a loss and damage fund
  The Guardian: Cop27 agrees historic ‘loss and damage’ fund for climate impact in developing countries

  International financing issues
  New America: Barbados’s Urgent Call for a Global Climate Finance Plan
  The United Nations: United Nations Secretary-General’s SDG Stimulus to Deliver Agenda 2030

• Further Reading

  FairPlanet: What will the Loss and Damage Fund mean for Africa's most vulnerable?

  Vogue Business: What COP27’s loss and damage fund means for fashion

  The New Humanitarian: Why climate justice requires reparations