Climate Reparations: What Does That Mean?

Author: Loise Yonga

Field of Study: Philosophy, Politics and Law

Program Affiliation: Source Project Research Program

Faculty Mentors: Matthew Cole

Easel: 64

Timeslot: Morning

Abstract: Climate crisis developed alongside centuries of colonial extraction, forced labor, unorthodox expansion and the uneven accumulation of wealth. Historically, climate change has been addressed simply through emission targets or renewable energy transitions. Yet, scholars and researchers state that addressing climate change requires accountability from those nations and corporations who benefitted from these systems that produced large-scale environmental harm, leaving many vulnerable nations to suffer. Through analyzing and evaluating different approaches to climate reparations, such as the COP28 Loss and Damage Fund and Preeya S. Mohan’s Climate Reparations for a Just Response to Climate Change, this study plans to create a blueprint to what just reparations should be. This method offers broad insights into the fight for reparations; ultimately working to ease the suffering of those in climate-vulnerable communities.