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.83, December 2009

The following is an abridged translation of an Indonesian-language article by M. Riza Damanik and Abdul Halim.1

Down to Earth No.80-81, June 2009

The first World Oceans Conference in Manado, North Sulawesi, was the scene of a police clamp-down on civil society in May, when two leading members of WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia) were arrested and sixteen other people were deported. Parallel CSO activities had been organised to highlight the need to recognise and protect the rights of small-scale fisherfolk in international marine negotiations.

Down to Earth No.80-81, June 2009

While this year's parliamentary and presidential elections have been dominating political life in Indonesia in recent months, the issue of climate change took a low priority on the competing parties' manifestos. Meanwhile, the government's much-criticised regulation on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) has been issued. Twenty projects are now underway in the country.