Climate change and the related global warming lead to large-scale shifts in the world’s ecological, societal, and economic systems. These shifts are rapidly redesigning the realities and livelihoods of people. In addition, the changes are not occurring in the same form and intensity globally. Therefore, the effects of climate change need to be connected to different concepts of justice. An important concern related to climate justice is that those who are least responsible for climate change suffer most from the consequences.

In reaction to the pressing need for action on climate injustice, the Working Group Energy, Water and Environment aims to create an inclusive platform where previously underrepresented groups in academia and the climate protection movement can participate and contribute to the issues of climate change and climate justice. 

Therefore, a first network-building online-conference on climate change and climate justice was organized to establish a best-practice for inclusive, transparent, and climate-friendly scientific online-conferencing. The meeting took place in a semi-virtual framework, combining local hubs with online participation-formats and video-streams. A particular focus was on Arab and German perspectives on climate justice. 

In addition to furthering the topic of climate justice as an academic field, the conference made a real-world impact by producing and sharing an agenda for transdisciplinary research that can inform and guide the way forward for those realizing and working on climate justice. A key achievement was the introduction of innovative and alternative perspectives on climate justice.

The conference was organized in close cooperation with the Reiner Lemoine Institut.