Corporate Accountability & Climate Justice

What is climate justice?

Climate change is an issue of injustice, similar to how we think about other human rights violations. It is the result of a small group of powerful people taking actions that inflict harm on another group of people: the rest of us. The people who suffer the most are already marginalized, such as people in lower-income countries and those who experience discrimination in higher-income countries.

That’s why you’ve probably heard a lot of activists and social movements using the phrase climate justice, which uses a human-centric lens to talk about policies to bring about change in a fair and equitable way.

A climate justice approach looks at the root causes of the climate crisis and how climate change builds on and magnifies inequalities. It calls on powerful institutions to address these imbalances and injustices, and to lay the groundwork for a future that does not replicate the discrimination of the present and the past.

A movement for climate justice centres itself on the demands, experience and knowledge of groups and communities most affected by the climate crisis.

It calls on all of us to recognize our own privilege in the way we campaign and mobilize for a just and equitable future.

Gender, racial, class, ethnic, disability and intergenerational justice are essential to truly achieving climate justice.

How is the climate crisis a human rights issue?

Most people are familiar with climate change as an environmental issue. Climate change is already causing extreme storms and heat waves, droughts, floods, forest fires, sea level rise and more.

But what does that have to do with human rights?

The climate crisis is the greatest human rights challenge of our time. It affects many human rights, including the right to life, health, food, water, housing, security and the rights of Indigenous peoples. While climate change affects us all, poorer countries and disadvantaged communities will be hit the hardest.

Climate change compounds and magnifies existing inequalities, and its effects will continue to grow and worsen over time, creating ruin for current and future generations. This is why the failure of governments to act on climate change in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence may well be the biggest intergenerational human rights violation in history.

Join the movement for climate justice & human rights!

Climate Justice Advocacy Group

An Amnesty International group dedicated to advancing climate justice through impactful campaigns and actions across Canada and around the world. We meet on the third Wednesday of each month via Zoom.

Environmental Human Rights Defenders Group

An Amnesty International group focused on supporting and standing in solidarity with defenders of land, water, and Indigenous rights who face threats and persecution. We meet on the third Monday of each month via Zoom.

What causes climate change?

Burning Fossil Fuel

The burning of fossil fuels for energy and transport – like so-called ‘natural gas’, oil and coal – emits toxic pollution which poisons our air and lungs and is responsible for more than 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide and methane in the air trap energy in our atmosphere and heat up the planet.

Agriculture & Deforestation

Human-driven deforestation and industrial agriculture also release large amounts of greenhouse gases. Clearing forests for farmland reduces the Earth's capacity to absorb CO₂, while livestock and fertilizers emit potent greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide.

Land-Use Change

Changes in how we use land, such as urban development, draining wetlands, and converting forests into industrial or residential zones, reduce the land’s ability to store carbon and further contribute to global warming.

The harmful effects of fossil-fuel emissions are deepening at an alarming rate. This is because our governments are not transitioning our economies away from a dependence on fossil fuels fast enough. While in many parts of the world renewable energy investment has increased, fossil fuel use is not decreasing because total energy use keeps increasing.

Our governments – especially those in high income, high emitting countries – need to focus on transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards more sustainable, just energy solutions and on helping lower income countries to do so too.

Which industries contribute to climate change the most?

Almost all industries engage in the burning of fossil fuels, but some contribute to greenhouse gas emissions more than others. Unsurprisingly, the industry producing the most fossil-fuel emissions is the energy sector, which sells a product that by definition harms the climate.

The second largest polluter is the agriculture sector. Practices like industrial livestock farming, deforestation and land-use change not only contribute to greenhouse gas emissions in our air but also destroy our natural defense to increasing carbon dioxide levels. Forests and trees consume carbon-dioxide and play a huge role in protecting our atmosphere, but they are regularly destroyed by intentional forest fires to clear land for commercial farming.

Who is most impacted by inaction on climate change?

Climate change will continue to harm all of us unless governments take action and seek help to do so if they need it. But its effects are much more pronounced for certain communities and groups, as well as those who are generally already disadvantaged and subject to discrimination. This includes, but is not limited to the following.

People in developing nations, especially coastal countries and small island states

Those in lower income countries, especially low-lying, small island states and less developed countries, are already among those worst affected by climate change. People in these countries have contributed very little to greenhouse gas emissions, but their countries are among the most harmed.

While some countries are especially vulnerable to climate change due to geography – such as small island states – it is no accident that lower-income countries experience the most loss and damage. This is due not only to their exposure to climate-related disasters, but also to the lasting consequences of colonialism, and its legacy of unequal distribution of resources among countries. These power differentials are enabled by present-day racism and neo-colonial attitudes.

Lower-income countries lack the money to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. And yet those with the necessary resources, like corporations and governments from higher-income countries, regularly ignore their legal responsibilities and obligations to address these harms.

Despite this profound power imbalance, many governments and activists in lower income countries are fighting back. For example, a campaign run by the government of Vanuatu and students from the small Pacific Island nation resulted in a historic vote at the UN, which strengthened the calls to consider inaction on climate change an issue of international justice.

Women from the Masai community take part in a Global Climate Strike organized by Fridays For Future, to demand climate reparations and action from world leaders and take genuine climate action. Photo by Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images.

Communities suffering from environmental racism

The effects of climate change and fossil fuel-related pollution also run along racial lines and other types of social hierarchies.

For example, in North America, poorer communities of colour are often forced to breathe toxic air because their neighbourhoods are more likely to be situated next to power plants, petrochemical facilities and refineries. They experience markedly higher rates of respiratory illnesses and cancers. African Americans are three times more likely to die of airborne pollution than the overall US population.

Photo: Women from the Masai community take part in a Global Climate Strike organized by Fridays For Future, to demand climate reparations and action from world leaders and take genuine climate action. Photo by Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images.

Photo: Indigenous people and climate activists protest in Madrid in front of the headquarters of the oil company Rapsol against oil contamination and the fossil fuel industry during the World Climate Conference. Photo by Clara Margais/picture alliance via Getty Images.

Photo: School children march down Queen Street during a climate change protest on May 24, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. Thousands of students across New Zealand are demonstrating in the streets again to fight for climate change action. Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images.

What should governments be doing about climate justice?

States have an obligation to protect human rights, including from harm caused by climate change.

So far, the actions and commitments taken by the Canadian government and other states are inadequate to prevent the climate crisis. Much more ambitious action is necessary. It is imperative that governments take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically. Furthermore, it is of utmost importance that they do so in a way that avoids harming human rights.

Amnesty urges the Canadian government to rapidly and substantially strengthen its efforts to address the grave and mounting human rights implications of climate change. Canada must commit to end the use of all fossil fuels and shift to 100% renewable energy as soon as possible and no later than 2040.

At the same time, the Canadian government must ensure that the transition to a zero-carbon economy respects, protects, and fulfills human rights. The Canadian government must also provide substantial financial and technical support to help the hardest hit communities, home and abroad, mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The dramatic impacts of climate change have exposed with devastating clarity, how integral a healthy environment is to the enjoyment of all our other rights.

Agnès Callamard

Amnesty International’s Secretary General

How Amnesty Is Demanding Action to Stop the Burning of Fossil Fuels

Powerful decision-makers need to put people before profit and bring about a full and fast end to fossil fuel use.

True justice will include an end to the destruction of the planet, but also support for those who are most affected.

Governments and company CEOs are violating our human rights when they choose to continue destroying the environment. This is not just a question of goodwill, but a legal obligation that applies to all governments and corporations. The movement to phase out fossil fuel production and use should be carried out fairly. That’s why high-income countries who have emitted the most historically carry a heavier burden for delivering climate justice. These countries should provide money to lower income states so all parties can meet their emission reduction targets.

We’re seeking justice for the impacts of climate change. We collect evidence and research to demand those in power take action and to strengthen the legal case against them.

Perhaps most importantly, we campaign with people like you to make enough noise so that inaction on climate change will not go unnoticed.

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Stay informed and take action! Join our climate justice mailing list.

If you would like to send or sign climate justice-related petitions and letters, subscribe to our newsletter or email The Climate Justice Team today, and we’ll add you to our mailing list.

Holding Corporations Accountable

Multinational companies enjoy unprecedented power and influence around the world. There are concerns over the ways in which many of these companies benefit from economic globalization while all too often evading corporate accountability when their operations result in environmental damage or human rights abuses. Canada, in particular, has been called upon by international human rights bodies to more effectively regulate Canadian companies’ overseas operations and sanction those who abuse human rights.

At the heart of Amnesty International’s concerns are the individuals and communities whose human rights are at risk.

Amnesty is calling for...

Prevention

Companies should be required by law to take steps to identify, prevent and address human rights abuses (known as human rights due diligence).

Corporate Accountability

Companies must be held to account for abuses they commit.

Remedy

People whose rights have been abused by companies must have access to justice and effective remedy.

Protection of Rights Beyond Borders

Companies operate across borders, so the law must also operate across borders to protect people’s rights.

Writer's Corner

There’s a good chance that the laptop, tablet or phone that you are using to read this contains a power storage unit. Perhaps you have recently ridden in an electric car or on an e-bike? They also rely on battery power. A battery is comprised of minerals that allow it to hold a charge and power your device or vehicle. Unfortunately, many of the minerals used to make the battery components are tainted with human rights abuses.

What should companies do?

Companies have a long way to go in demonstrating that their operations do not harm human rights or the environment. Poor industry regulation, or even self-regulation, has led to devastated and contaminated environments, human rights abuses, divided communities, and alarming levels of corruption. Amnesty International is calling on companies to continuously and proactively identify and address risks for people and the environment from their operations and provide for remediation in case of harm. In addition, companies must improve battery design for longer use and recyclability.

Please read our new paper: Powering Change: Principles for Businesses and Governments in the Battery Value Chain

How can we make sure human rights are at the center of a Just Transition?

Amnesty believes that human rights must be at the centre of climate justice and a just transition to a zero-carbon future. To minimize the harmful effects of climate change on human rights, Canada must reduce its fossil fuel dependency and greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible. Central to this shift is a massive increase in the use of rechargeable batteries to power electric vehicles and energy storage units.

Read our new comic book on Rechargeable Batteries and Just Transition.

Learn more

If you are interested in Just Transportation and Ethical Batteries, please join Amnesty’s Specialized Team on Climate Justice and Corporate Accountability. Join by contacting Elena Dumitru and learn more by contacting Tara Scurr.

Have you thought about how often you use single-use and rechargeable batteries at home or at work? Test your own awareness by taking our personal audit, a fun and thought-provoking way to help you think about how you use power storage units like batteries.

The Dark Side of Electric Cars: Exploitative Labour Practices

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Ways to take action.

Help us ensure that Canadian and multinational companies respect human rights in Canada and around the world.

Join our Amnesty Canada Climate Justice and Corporate Accountability Specialized Team.

Subscribe to receive our e-newsletter.

Contact Amnesty’s Corporate Action Network (for more information and/or to volunteer).

Additional Resources

More Human Rights Issues

Mass Surveillance, Security & Human Rights

Dealth Penalty

Women's Rights & Gender Justice

Arms Trade

2SLGBTQI+ Rights

Refugees & Migrants

Indigenous Peoples in Canada

Health & Human Rights

For full details on Amnesty International’s human rights advocacy and research work in countries and regions around the world, please visit our global website.