1 - Climate justice, social policy and the transition to net zero in the UK

Summary

Introduction

Climate change is both global in scope and unprecedented in scale and has been described by the UN as ‘the defining issue of our time’ (UN, 2020). There has been scientific consensus that human activity has been causing climate change for some time (Oreskes, 2004; Cook et al, 2013), with the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2021) confirming that it is ‘unequivocal’ that human activity has warmed the atmosphere, land and oceans. There is also substantial evidence surrounding the impacts of climate change; it threatens food, water and energy security, and it poses acute risks to lives and livelihoods through extreme weather events, especially heatwaves, droughts, cyclones and sea level rise (UN, 2020).

The urgency of addressing climate change was encapsulated by the UN Secretary General in a speech given on 21 September 2021:

It is a wake-up call to instill a sense of urgency on the dire state of the climate process … Based on the present commitments of Member States, the world is on a catastrophic pathway to 2.7 degrees of heating, instead of 1.5 we all agreed should be the limit. Science tells us that anything above 1.5 degrees would be a disaster … (UN, 2021)

Additionally, it is clear that the impacts of climate change have significant potential to heighten inequalities across society (Roberts and Parks, 2006; Gough, 2013; UN, 2019; Snell, 2022). As such, fundamental policy transformations are required to ensure just processes of adaptation (ways of living with climate change) and mitigation (ways of reducing our contribution to climate change). Since the Paris Agreement in 2015, the discourse around climate policy has emphasised the importance of a ‘just transition’ (UN, 2015; Wang and Lo, 2021). Broadly conceived, the concept of a just transition underscores the importance of protecting those affected by the transition to a low carbon economy and taking early action to minimise negative impacts and maximise positive opportunities (IISD, 2021).