Informational justice and environmental justice for climate refugees in times of the Anthropocene
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v67i.98748Keywords:
climate refugees, informational justice, climate justice, Anthropocene, climate emergencyAbstract
The article analyses the implications of the lack of legal recognition of the category of climate refugees, articulating this debate in the dimensions of climate and informational justice. The start point is contextualising this phenomenon within the framework of the multiple crises of the Anthropocene, highlighting the increased vulnerability of populations in the Global South, historically less responsible for global warming, but disproportionately affected by its impacts. The study examines the historical, political, and legal obstacles that make it difficult to recognise climate refugees as legal subjects, highlighting the power asymmetries underlying the denial of this category. The methodology is based on a critical literature review, which underpins the concepts of climate justice and informational justice and analyses their intersections. Based on this framework, it is argued that access to information, communication, and international recognition is a central element in the fight for climate justice, being essential both for the protection of the rights of these subjects and for the formulation of adaptation and reparation policies. It is observed that, although national and international regulations recognise forced displacement as an adaptation strategy, a specific legal vacuum persists. This vacuum compromises not only the guarantee of rights, but also access to strategic information for survival, humanitarian support, and the circulation of essential data between people and organisations. At the end, the article maintains that the formal recognition of the climate refugees is essential for their full citizenship and for the construction of fair and supportive responses to the global climate crisis.
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