Environmental Justice and Climate Change: Integrating Scientific Evidence, Social Equity, and Sustainable Policy for Climate Resilience

What is it about?

The review article “Environmental Justice and Climate Change: Integrating Scientific Evidence, Social Equity, and Sustainable Policy for Climate Resilience” examines the close relationship between climate change and environmental justice, emphasizing that the impacts of climate change are not experienced equally across society. While climate change is a global problem driven by greenhouse gas emissions, its consequences are disproportionately borne by vulnerable populations, including low-income communities, Indigenous peoples, women, children, older adults, and people living in developing countries. The article argues that these groups contribute the least to climate change but often suffer the most from rising temperatures, floods, droughts, sea-level rise, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, and water scarcity. The review explains that environmental justice is based on the principles of fairness, equal access to environmental resources, public participation, and protection of human rights. It highlights how social inequalities, weak governance, and limited access to healthcare, education, infrastructure, and financial resources increase vulnerability to climate-related disasters. The authors also discuss the importance of integrating environmental justice into climate policies so that adaptation and mitigation efforts benefit all communities rather than only the most developed regions. In addition, the article reviews scientific evidence demonstrating that climate change intensifies public health risks, threatens biodiversity, disrupts agriculture and food security, and places enormous pressure on water resources. It highlights the role of modern technologies such as remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), artificial intelligence, and climate modelling in identifying vulnerable regions and supporting evidence-based decision-making. The review concludes that achieving climate resilience requires not only reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also promoting inclusive governance, equitable climate finance, community participation, nature-based solutions, and international cooperation. By combining scientific knowledge with social equity and sustainable policies, societies can build a more resilient, environmentally just, and sustainable future.

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Photo by Clarisse Meyer on Unsplash

Photo by Clarisse Meyer on Unsplash