Climate change exacerbates existing inequities, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities who are least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and most vulnerable to climate impacts. On 28 July 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution recognizing the human right to a healthy environment. This follows the General Assembly's 2010 recognition of the human right to access clean water and sanitation, underscoring the imperative for equitable water resource distribution and environmental protection in the face of climate change.
Current climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts often overlook these dimensions, focusing primarily on technical and economic solutions without adequately addressing the needs and rights of the most vulnerable populations. Moreover, climate solutions typically designed to work on a global scale often generate overlooked local impacts in terms of environmental degradation and water systems alterations. This exacerbates systemic inequalities and undermines the effectiveness and sustainability of climate initiatives. Well-known examples of these mechanisms include the following: the relationship between urban greening for climate-responsive cities and green gentrification, creating socially exclusive urban environments; the hydrological implications of energy transition strategies, such as hydropower and biofuels; and the trade-offs connected to irrigation expansion, between crop productivity under climate change and impacts on downstream water scarcity, local ecosystems, and food security.
This session invites contributions that investigate trade-offs between climate mitigation and adaptation and other environmental and water-related challenges, potentially focusing on societal aspects, as well as research that explores synergistic solutions for water security, environmental preservation, and community driven climate adaptation.
We particularly welcome contributions focusing on:
• Analysis of barriers to achieving environmental and water justice in current climate strategies, policies, and actions
• Multi-dimensional impact assessments of sustainability strategies
• Community-driven initiatives that address both environmental sustainability and social equity
• Design of climate solutions that simultaneously maintain/improve the status of ecosystems and water resources
• Case studies highlighting successful integration of social justice into climate adaptation and mitigation projects