The Climate Justice Network was launched in 2017 to explore issues of ethics, justice and law in responses to climate change. Our aims are to be a platform bringing together researchers from across disciplines to share their research, to inform climate policy development with justice and equity perspectives, and to promote engagement with local communities, business, younger people and students. We undertake research into issues of ethics, justice and law that arise at the international, regional or local levels in responding to the challenge of climate change and the transition to a low carbon future. Such research is inherently multidisciplinary and collaborative, and has the potential to contribute to informing policy development and public discussion. Our first project was the Imagining a Different Future Conference and community events in 2018. The Conference presentations are in the knowledge hub. We plan to focus in 2019-2020 on how best to ensure the interests of future generations and younger people are taken in account in climate change planning and governance.
Why Tasmania?
Tasmania is the ideal location for this initiative, with its long history of conservation expertise and environmentalism, the largest concentration of climate scientists and Antarctic researchers in the Southern Hemisphere, and particularly engaged local community. The University of Tasmania has a broad range of researchers and thinkers in the climate change field and is committed to engagement with local communities, business and government in understanding the challenge of climate change. A Southern Hemispheric connection with a focus on local and regional issues, as well as global concerns, could make a significant contribution to public discourse and policy debates about climate change. Nearly one third of Tasmania is World Heritage Area protected under a global convention that explicitly embodies notions of intergenerational justice. The Cape Grim weather station plays a key part in monitoring climate change and made the first recording of 400ppm in 2016, confirming the urgency of the climate challenge.