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What Climate Justice Means And Why We Should Care
We owe it to our fellow humans – and other species – to save them from the catastrophic harm caused by climate change.
Philosopher Elizabeth Cripps approaches climate justice not just as an abstract idea but as something that should motivate us all. Using clear reasoning and poignant examples, starting from irrefutable science and uncontroversial moral rules, she explores our obligations to each other and to the non-human world, unravels the legacy of colonialism and entrenched racism, and makes the case for immediate action.
The second half of the book looks at solutions. Who should pay the bill for climate action? Who must have a say? How can we hold multinational companies, organisations – even nations – to account? Cripps argues powerfully that climate justice goes beyond political polarization. Climate activism is a moral duty, not a political choice.
Philosopher Elizabeth Cripps approaches climate justice not just as an abstract idea but as something that should motivate us all. Using clear reasoning and poignant examples, starting from irrefutable science and uncontroversial moral rules, she explores our obligations to each other and to the non-human world, unravels the legacy of colonialism and entrenched racism, and makes the case for immediate action.
The second half of the book looks at solutions. Who should pay the bill for climate action? Who must have a say? How can we hold multinational companies, organisations – even nations – to account? Cripps argues powerfully that climate justice goes beyond political polarization. Climate activism is a moral duty, not a political choice.
224 pages, Paperback
Published April 12, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 1, 2022
What Climate Justice Means and Why We Should Care by Elizabeth Cripps is that rare book that simplifies the explanations on a topic without giving oversimplified information. In this case the topic is climate justice and Cripps does, I think, a phenomenal job of trying to extricate it from partisan politics where it really doesn't belong.
The explanation of what climate justice (and injustice) is essential for coming to a position on the coupled topic of climate change. Many of us who have been advocating for policies aimed at slowing the warming have been only partly aware of just what goes into the idea(s) of climate justice. Cripps helps us to better formulate our own reasons. For those who have been unsure whether to make even the smallest of changes, I think there is a good chance your concerns or questions will be addressed here. From there you will have an idea of how climate change does indeed affect everyone but does not affect everyone equally. At that point you have to decide your relationship to the human species, are you part of us or do you consider yourself above most of your species?
This is a clear and extremely well-presented explanation of both what-is and how we can make a better what-is-to-come. Highly recommended for both those already trying to make improvements as well as those unsure of why or how they should.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
The explanation of what climate justice (and injustice) is essential for coming to a position on the coupled topic of climate change. Many of us who have been advocating for policies aimed at slowing the warming have been only partly aware of just what goes into the idea(s) of climate justice. Cripps helps us to better formulate our own reasons. For those who have been unsure whether to make even the smallest of changes, I think there is a good chance your concerns or questions will be addressed here. From there you will have an idea of how climate change does indeed affect everyone but does not affect everyone equally. At that point you have to decide your relationship to the human species, are you part of us or do you consider yourself above most of your species?
This is a clear and extremely well-presented explanation of both what-is and how we can make a better what-is-to-come. Highly recommended for both those already trying to make improvements as well as those unsure of why or how they should.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
January 4, 2023
This was a great informative read on climate change and how the climate emergency unfairly impacts the most vulnerable communities — the global south, people of colour, and poor people. A stat that I found interesting that I hadn’t read before is the breakdown of greenhouse gas emissions by country, but also broken down per capita. For example, the top 3 emitters are China, the US, and India. But the per capita (CO2 in metric tons) is 8.4 for China, 17.74 for the US, and only 2.47 for India. It’s helpful to look at things that way rather than calling out developing countries like China and India who are still doing a much better job than a lot of the fully developed nations. A quick, educational, and enjoyable read.
May 18, 2022
Urgent and perfectly sequenced.
Elizabeth Cripps maneuvers the fundamentals of morality to climate justice's stiffest challenges to what individuals can and should do. Ms Cripps seems intent on making her stances uncontroversial, no small task in this political environment. But yet she makes an unambiguous case in few words.
I do think her sentence fragments and artistic effects don't work great in such call-to-action nonfiction. That aside, this is worth the read. Would fully recommend to anyone inhabiting the planet today and who intends to continue doing so into the future, especially those who subscribe to the philosophy of 'do no harm.'
Elizabeth Cripps maneuvers the fundamentals of morality to climate justice's stiffest challenges to what individuals can and should do. Ms Cripps seems intent on making her stances uncontroversial, no small task in this political environment. But yet she makes an unambiguous case in few words.
I do think her sentence fragments and artistic effects don't work great in such call-to-action nonfiction. That aside, this is worth the read. Would fully recommend to anyone inhabiting the planet today and who intends to continue doing so into the future, especially those who subscribe to the philosophy of 'do no harm.'
November 29, 2024
This book is a summary of climate justice as opposed to a deep dive to try to convince climate deniers of the necessity of acting now.
March 31, 2022
I’m not a climate denier but before reading this book I did not fully grasp the impact of climate. This book has opened my eyes to the many levels of climate control. After reading this book, I’m empowered to do better in my personal life as it relates to climate control.
This book is a must read!!
This book is a must read!!
October 9, 2024
Mooie studie waar Cripps vertrekt vanuit de veronderstelling dat het 'no-harm-principle' (breng de ander geen schade toe) ook in klimaatbeleid leidend zou moeten zijn. In haar uitwerking hoe dit vorm zou kunnen krijgen sluit ze aan bij Singers 'principe van opoffering': als het in ons vermogen ligt om iets slechts te voorkomen zonder daarvoor iets van vergelijkbaar belang op te offeren we de morele plicht hebben dat te doen.
June 12, 2023
i took a lot of valuable things away from this book but honestly it was a bit boring and i didn't enjoy the writing style much. also, was a bit fucked of me to read this on the plane
August 3, 2022
There's not much in this book that you can't find from just general reading about climate change and climate justice. It's an easy to read summary for someone new but not something I would use in my university classrooms, I would want something deeper.
November 14, 2023
idk what to say. i just really disliked this book. the tone is condescending, the facts are manipulative and only partially presented, and i didn't learn anything. except how much this author learned in the year 2014 and how many times things like "future generations" and "our children" were not so casually mentioned. as someone who doesn't want kids and never has...that angle not only doesn't work for me but actively pisses me off.
also, if you want to use your privilege to center other people's stories, this isn't the way to do it. maybe get other people's stories in their own words and publish an anthology. don't summarize and manipulate other people's lives to prove your own point. it just really didn't sit well with me.
i've also never thought about the word (term? phrase? whatever) non-human to refer to animals (as in non-human animals, i guess?), but i now know i hate it. and a personal issue to me: when i read a book by an author from a country other than mine, i expect their/a different perspective on the world NOT multiple examples of why said author hates my entire country. zero nuance to any of the arguments...just manipulative facts. a lot of the condescending language included phrases like, "as we saw in chapter one" or "as i've argued in chapter four" and...i don't think any of those things were made clear. the philosopher's angle in this case seemed to be musing on a lot of questions and examining one side of an argument, then using only facts that support her side. am i repeating myself? maybe. this book sure did.
and i'm not going to look into it (i truly don't want to think about this book anymore), but i'd love to know how many of those philosophers the author referenced are white men. you know, the ones she used as moral framework for her arguments about how women and poc (especially poc women) are neglected. curious.
anyway, if you learned a lot from this book, i'm happy for you. i haven't read a ton of climate books, but i certainly won't read one from this author again. if you have some good recommendations, def leave me a comment!! = )
also, if you want to use your privilege to center other people's stories, this isn't the way to do it. maybe get other people's stories in their own words and publish an anthology. don't summarize and manipulate other people's lives to prove your own point. it just really didn't sit well with me.
i've also never thought about the word (term? phrase? whatever) non-human to refer to animals (as in non-human animals, i guess?), but i now know i hate it. and a personal issue to me: when i read a book by an author from a country other than mine, i expect their/a different perspective on the world NOT multiple examples of why said author hates my entire country. zero nuance to any of the arguments...just manipulative facts. a lot of the condescending language included phrases like, "as we saw in chapter one" or "as i've argued in chapter four" and...i don't think any of those things were made clear. the philosopher's angle in this case seemed to be musing on a lot of questions and examining one side of an argument, then using only facts that support her side. am i repeating myself? maybe. this book sure did.
and i'm not going to look into it (i truly don't want to think about this book anymore), but i'd love to know how many of those philosophers the author referenced are white men. you know, the ones she used as moral framework for her arguments about how women and poc (especially poc women) are neglected. curious.
anyway, if you learned a lot from this book, i'm happy for you. i haven't read a ton of climate books, but i certainly won't read one from this author again. if you have some good recommendations, def leave me a comment!! = )
September 18, 2025
XXXXX
A BOOK THAT CONVEYS THE REALITIES OF CLIMATE INJUSTICES
XXXXX
"Climate justice is about what it means to acknowledge our fellow humans as just that: human, like you and me.
It's about the wrongness of violating human rights, of causing malaria, starvation, and fires that choke families to death in their own homes.
It's about recognizing that we should save our fellow humans from terror and suffering, if we can.
It's about the baseline for a minimally just world, and how far we have fallen below it."
The above (in italics) comes from this passionate book by Elizabeth Cripps. She is a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh (in Scotland). Cripps is a formal journalist turned moral philosopher with a focus on climate ethics and justice.
Climate justice is a type of environmental justice that focuses on the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalized or vulnerable populations. Climate justice examines concepts such as equality, human rights, collective rights, justice, and the historical responsibilities for climate change.
This book is full of hard truths and arguments which, though unpleasant, are grounded in basic morality and ethics. As well, this book draws on the wisdom and work of many activists and journalists.
This is a book not simply about climate change , but about climate justice. What it looks like and why it should matter to each of us.
Finally, the concluding chapter has six key takeaways that the author would like you to consider after you read this book. I found all of these interesting & important and added them to the ones I had already formulated.
In conclusion, I found this to be an extremely well-written book that provides a blueprint for what climate justice would look like!!
XXXXX
(2022; introduction; 6 chapters; conclusion; main narrative 190 pages; further reading; bibliography; acknowledgements; index)
XXXXX
A BOOK THAT CONVEYS THE REALITIES OF CLIMATE INJUSTICES
XXXXX
"Climate justice is about what it means to acknowledge our fellow humans as just that: human, like you and me.
It's about the wrongness of violating human rights, of causing malaria, starvation, and fires that choke families to death in their own homes.
It's about recognizing that we should save our fellow humans from terror and suffering, if we can.
It's about the baseline for a minimally just world, and how far we have fallen below it."
The above (in italics) comes from this passionate book by Elizabeth Cripps. She is a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh (in Scotland). Cripps is a formal journalist turned moral philosopher with a focus on climate ethics and justice.
Climate justice is a type of environmental justice that focuses on the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalized or vulnerable populations. Climate justice examines concepts such as equality, human rights, collective rights, justice, and the historical responsibilities for climate change.
This book is full of hard truths and arguments which, though unpleasant, are grounded in basic morality and ethics. As well, this book draws on the wisdom and work of many activists and journalists.
This is a book not simply about climate change , but about climate justice. What it looks like and why it should matter to each of us.
Finally, the concluding chapter has six key takeaways that the author would like you to consider after you read this book. I found all of these interesting & important and added them to the ones I had already formulated.
In conclusion, I found this to be an extremely well-written book that provides a blueprint for what climate justice would look like!!
XXXXX
(2022; introduction; 6 chapters; conclusion; main narrative 190 pages; further reading; bibliography; acknowledgements; index)
XXXXX
June 12, 2022
Nice book for understanding climate justice. We need changes in the system because current one will get many people killed because of climate changes. Sad point is that the ones who contribute least will suffer the most (and are already doing so). Right for decent life matters no matter who you are but in reality big polluters (companies and countries) really don't care. This a reason why everybody should do something to save more lives in future. Climate crisis is not some minor change that will give us longer summers it is a threat that will kill and bring sufferings to many humans. If we don't want to be gas chamber operators we should change our habits and demand changes from companies and governments.
January 22, 2024
3.5 ⭐️s
Contained a lot of really interesting points and reflections, the bit on animals made me want to cut meat out! But I think it read slightly like a venting session and I think could’ve done more to hypothesise on how to stop climate denial, lots of these arguments won’t reach the most ardent deniers
Contained a lot of really interesting points and reflections, the bit on animals made me want to cut meat out! But I think it read slightly like a venting session and I think could’ve done more to hypothesise on how to stop climate denial, lots of these arguments won’t reach the most ardent deniers
October 19, 2022
This book is so important - everyone needs to read this. It’s easy to read but somehow packed with essential information. It also perfectly explains how climate justice is so deeply interwoven with indigenous, LGBTQ+, reproductive, women’s, and racial justice.
September 26, 2022
Felt like vent session. I agree with all the main points but again I’m not sure it will change anyone who doesn’t already believe in climate change. I think it will turn off people on the fence.
September 27, 2022
This book should be titled it sucks be poor. It’s not really science. It’s not really cultural, but it tries to connect the two and poverty. Yep, the very poor among us have big problems.
November 7, 2022
not groundbreaking but convincing, Cripps clearly lays arguments and figures that should be an evidence to everyone. It makes me cry that such a book is still needed
January 22, 2024
the level of flashbacks this gave me to global justice and citizenship in fourth year of uni…
October 20, 2024
Cripps explains clearly here why climate justice is one of the most important issues of our time and why it's urgent to work together to save our planet.
November 10, 2022
Undeniable, ethics/morality driven -- worth reading especially for those often explaining why our actions matter or struggling themselves to stay environmentally driven
November 15, 2023
I think this was a great book, especially as a starter for those who are not very informed on the topic.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews