CLIMATE JUSTICE AND GLOBAL INEQUALITY: ANALYZING THE NORTH–SOUTH DIVIDE IN CLIMATE RESPONSIBILITY AND VULNERABILITY

Abstract

Climate change is among the most important global challenges of the twenty-first century, yet its causes and consequences are still highly unequal in the world. This paper examines climate justice and global inequality by discussing the North-South divide in climate responsibility and vulnerability. Qualitative analysis has been done by drawing on secondary data from scholarly literature, international climate reports, and policy documents on how historical emission patterns and socio-economic factors shape climate impacts. Results show that countries of the Global North are disproportionately responsible for cumulative greenhouse gas emissions due to early industrialization and fossil-fuel-based development, with countries of the Global South bearing very little responsibility for causing the crisis. Yet, developing countries suffer from the harshest effects of climate change: extreme weather events, food insecurity, health risks, and climate-induced displacement. The study also establishes that legacies of colonialism, different development trajectories, and asymmetric power relations in global governance continue to shape climate negotiations and resource distribution. International frameworks like the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) do accord due recognition to historical responsibility, but their implementation remains severely inadequate, particularly with respect to climate finance and technological support. This work underlines the need for climate policies centered on justice, which takes into consideration historical emissions, structural inequalities, and the reinforcement of support mechanisms directed at vulnerable nations. The study contributes to ongoing debates on climate justice through the stress it lays on ethical responsibility and equitable action.