Climate Change and Environmental Justice: Contemporary Legal Challenges

Abstract

Climate change and environmental justice create complex legal issues which current legal systems are not sufficiently tackling. This paper explores the interaction between the current legal frameworks for climate action and the procedural and substantive aspects of environmental justice, and finds that there are many structural gaps in the protection of marginalised groups who are most affected by climate change. The research identifies key gaps in environmental protection mechanisms based on Indian constitutional jurisprudence, international legal instruments like the Paris Agreement and comparative judicial precedents, and examines how distributive, procedural and recognition justice dimension’s function or do not function in the existing legal regimes. The jurisprudence in the Indian courts is very strong and places environmental protection as a fundamental right under Article 21, but statutory implementation is scattered in various regulatory fields with no framework for integrated climate governance. International legal architecture is based on principle rather than enforcement, and gives a lot of leeway to the nation-states and not much to the marginalised communities in decision-making processes. The authors conclude that the challenge of environmental justice requires stepping beyond technocratic management to justice-oriented legal frameworks that involve intergenerational accountability mechanisms, recognition of indigenous knowledge systems and employment protection with the climate transition. These specific recommendations include comprehensive Climate Act legislation, strengthening of participatory mechanisms using Free Prior and Informed Consent procedures, development of sector transition frameworks protecting affected workers, and intergenerational impact assessment. The study concludes that, although law is essential in safeguarding environmental rights, there is need to give a greater weight to the environmental and social justice needs as opposed to the short-term economic interests.