The human-induced climate change, which is one of the biggest problems faced by the world today, is more devastating for fragile groups of society such as the elderly, children, women, immigrants, and countries with weak economies.

Vice President of Climate Change Policy and Research Association Alkan Üstün and Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Department of Sociology's professor Bahattin Cizreli research climate change and social inequalities, evaluating how human-induced climate change causes environmental injustice on a global scale and harms vulnerable groups around the world.

Environmental injustice

"Environmental injustice is a term referring to a situation when there is an unequal distribution of environmental benefits in the society," Üstün explained.

Noting that today’s climate change is a human-induced crisis based on production and consumption relations although changes in average temperatures have been recorded at different periods in history, Üstün highlighted that vulnerable groups with less consumption, both at the level of countries and among social groups, suffer more than others.

The most important triggers of human-induced climate change are increased carbon emissions due to the intense use of fossil fuels, converting forest areas into agricultural land to meet the increasing consumer demand and the inappropriate use of freshwater reservoirs. These factors have exacerbated the climate change problems, he said.

Pointing out that children are more prone to respiratory diseases than adults and are more affected by malnutrition, Üstün explained: "The elderly, who are more likely to encounter chronic health problems, suffer more from the adverse effects of climate change on health, such as heat waves and extreme weather conditions.

While vulnerable groups are exposed to grave environmental risks because of factors such as poverty, region of residence, and social discrimination, they have fewer resources to cope with and combat the adverse effects of climate change, which deepens structural injustices and aggravates social inequalities, Üstün underscored.

Gender discrimination

Meanwhile, Cizreli pointed out that a relationship can be established between climate change and discrimination at the class, ethnic and global levels. "Actually, discrimination is not just a form of emotional reaction, it is a strategy that ensures the reproduction of inequality in its background and enables the reproduction of inequality among the group," he highlighted.

"Women are disproportionately affected by climate change than men, as they are often responsible for tasks such as food production, food preparation, and water delivery that can be directly impacted by climate-related events such as droughts," he added.

Low-income communities

Low-income communities usually live in areas likely to be damaged by floods or areas with intense environmental pollution. These groups rarely have access to emergency services, insurance against contingencies and the financial resources to sustain and re-establish life as usual after disasters. This makes them more vulnerable to the harmful effects of climate change than other segments of society. The experts emphasized efforts should be made to eliminate inequalities to reduce the impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups and build more resilient communities."

Far-right ideas

Underlining that environmental crises caused by drought, floods and climate change have made many people refugees, Cizreli predicted that the ecological crisis will significantly increase migration mobility. "Significant human mobility is foreseen because of the climate crisis and related problems. Some countries define this situation as a ‘slow disaster,’" the professor noted.

Meanwhile, far-right movements define reactive and concrete threats triggered by environmental injustice. The tensions over natural resources, especially water, will deepen the conflict between countries and will offer political space to the far-right movements. Besides, as the migration will pace up due to climate change, immigrants might face more discrimination and racism and thus it can also trigger a lot of socio-economic crises, the experts opined.

Global inequalities

Pointing out that human activities cause climate change, Cizreli said: "Industrialization has increased excessive consumption, the development of transportation, the reduction of forests, and the release of various gases into the atmosphere are the main causes of climate change. Some countries are more responsible for accelerating climate change than others, considering the production models they have maintained for centuries and their current consumption rates."

We will be able to save the planet only when the responsibility of combating climate change and adaptation of policies is shared equally in every country, and democratization and transparency are ensured, both in decision-making processes and in using technical knowledge to implement the preventative measures to combat the effects of climate change, Cizreli and Üstün concluded.