Climate Justice Network
Committed to research and public engagement on climate justice.
Based at the University of Tasmania, Australia.
News
New Co-convenors
After the sad passing of Jan Linehan, Peter Lawrence has decided to step back from his role as co-convener. Peter is delighted to hand over the running of the CJN to a new team of co-convenors: Dr Ruth Adler, Dr Manon Simon and Ms Jen Boocock, under the umbrella of the Student Environment and Animal Law Society (SEALS).
As co-convenors, Jen, Manon and Ruth wish to thank Peter for his work since 2017 and his support in the transfer of the network to SEALS. We acknowledge Jan's significant work since 2017 and are honoured and excited to take on the role of co-convenors, with Peter to remain as an advisor. We pledge to continue the legacy of strong climate justice advocacy left by Jan and Peter. Please watch this space for more network news coming soon.
Find out more about us.
Vale Jan Linehan
It is with great sadness I wish to share the news that Jan Linehan passed away following an illness on Friday 10 June.
Jan’s work in co-convening the Climate Justice Network (CJN) reflected her strongly held sense of justice. This sense of justice was also a springboard for Jan’s activism. For Jan, it was not enough to observe injustice, action was required to change policy. Research to be meaningful needed to be carried through into reform.
The Climate Justice Network strongly reflected Jan’s vision of activism.
The breadth of Jan’s vision of activism shone through in many ways. One example is the conference ‘Imagining a different future: overcoming barriers to climate justice’ which took place in Hobart in 2018. Jan ensured that this conference was quite different from most academic conferences. There was a whole day - the final day of the conference - devoted to activism, engaging community climate activists, who participated throughout the conference. Jan’s activism involved research into policy options but also storytelling, and finding ways for vulnerable people and nature to be given a voice, including through art, storytelling and music, and the conference reflected this.
Jan was an honorary adjunct researcher at the University of Tasmania Law School since 2016. Jan’s research was particularly focused in the recent period on justice for future generations, including through parliamentary reforms and citizens’ assemblies. Earlier in her career she had worked as an adjunct at New York University, and Melbourne law schools, making strong contributions to research and treaty law, and international environmental law.
Jan brought to her work with CJN an extraordinary range of skills. She was for many years, a senior legal advisor and treaty negotiator for the Australian government, and previously worked in drafting legislation for the Australian government, as well as working for an international organisation in Brussels.
Jan had an extraordinary gift for bringing people together and always brought out the best in people. She enjoyed mentoring both colleagues and students, and inspired many. She was enormously generous with her deep expertise and intellect. Jan worked as a member of Climate Tasmania, ran the ‘Engaging Tales’ series of public interviews with reformers, made submissions on human rights, co-ordinated the social engagements aspects of the Hobart Breath of Fresh Air (BOFA) Film Festival, brought the Human Rights Film Festival to Tasmania in 2017 and worked with the Student Environmental and Animal Law Society (SEALS).
Jan combined dignity with a strong sense of purpose and leaves a strong legacy.
Jan we will miss you.
Peter Lawrence
Public forum: Giving Future Generations a Voice
Tuesday 16 November, 5.30pm @ IMAS, Salamanca, Hobart CBD
The interests of young people and future generations are ignored in policy responses to the existential threat of climate change. Systemic short-termism and institutional bias are key barriers to effective, just and inclusive action. Panellists look at the case for reform and real world political options for institutions that give future generations a voice and so could be part of the solution not the problem.
This session will also see the launch of the new book Giving Future Generations a Voice, with contributions from UTAS and Australian and international experts.
Sponsored by the Climate Justice Network and University of Tasmania Faculty of Law.
30 September 2021
Giving Future Generations a Voice-new book
Giving Future Generations a Voice, Normative Frameworks, Institutions and Practice
Eds, Jan Linehan and Peter Lawrence (Edward Elgar, 2021)
‘Short-termism in policymaking is usually lamented as inexorable. We prioritize short-term policy outcomes, we often hear, because future generations are powerless. Giving Future Generations a Voice shows that it need not be so. Gathering specialists from various fields, it explores a range of institutions, from ombudspersons to citizens’ assemblies to sustainable development institutions, to better reflect future interests in present policies. It is an indispensable collection for anyone wishing to learn what grounds such institutions and how to make them work.’
– Iñigo González Ricoy, University of Barcelona, Spain
Global environmental crises and reactions against short-term thinking have spawned new institutions aimed at giving a voice to future generations in policy-making. This book looks at why we need such institutions using approaches from ethics, human rights, sustainable development, intergenerational justice and administrative law. It canvasses how to design such institutions to maximise their effectiveness, operating principles for such institutions, and case studies from around the world. A range of reform proposals are also explored, including mainstreaming future generations’ voices and interests in parliamentary processes, commissioners for future generations, human rights-based bodies and citizens’ assemblies.
This collection brings together philosophers, political and social scientists, lawyers and practitioners. It provides both an introduction to the field and a scholarly in-depth set of studies.
Contributors: Professor Jonathan Boston, Elizabeth Dirth, Dr Andrew Flynn, Cleo Hansen-Lohrey, Dr Peter Lawrence, Associate Professor Bridget Lewis, Jan Linehan, Dr Phillipa C. McCormack, Dr Alan Netherwood, Dr Friedrich Soltau, and Nicky van Dijk.
https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/isbn/9781839108242
You can click on “what's inside” at this link to see the introduction/ first chapter.
Climate Justice in a time of pandemic
In the midst of a crisis like the COVID 19 pandemic many people may not want to think about climate change-a more distant threat. However, climate change is a global existential threat-no longer a far off possibility. The choices we make in the near future in terms of so-called economic “recovery policies” will be critical in dealing with climate change and either perpetuating inequality or moving towards fairness. With the CJN blog, we will continue to share research and new ideas on climate change and justice. Jonathan Boston, a political scientist and governance expert at the Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, explores the different responses evoked by COVID 19 and climate change. Peter Friederici sees positive signs in the willingness of potentially unaffected people to protect older more vulnerable people in the current crisis. Peter is a science communications specialist from North Arizona University who was in Tasmania recently and due to speak at a panel on science, myths and climate change we were hosting-now deferred-and we hope to come back to this topic soon. We also have 2 new blogs on climate litigation by Danny Noonan looking at the role of litigation globally and in Australia from the perspective of social movements.
These new April-May blogs in their different ways are insightful and timely. We are very grateful to the authors. We welcome your blog contributions. Jan.Linehan@utas.edu.au
Call for Abstracts: Just Transitions Postgraduate Conference March 2020
The Practical Justice Initiative at the University of New South Wales is hosting an interdisciplinary postgraduate conference on just transitions in March 2020 at UNSW, Sydney. The conference aims to cover a broad range of topics relating to just transitions, including but not limited to:
Justice issues relating to the transition
Community involvement in transitions
Current transition proposals/frameworks
Barriers for transitions
Policy on transition
Support and opposition to transitions
Abstracts are due by 23rd December 2019. Please see the attached notice.
1 November 2019
Invitation to write for our climate justice blog
We are asking researchers, Honours, Masters and PhD students, post docs, alumni with a connection to the University of Tasmania, and participants in our climate justice events or the CJNetwork to consider writing a blog contribution to inform the current debate on climate change and in particular to bring a “justice perspective” to the research agenda and public discussion.
We are interested in blogs written for a non-specialist audience that advance thinking, share unique research, discuss important new literature or reports, or are creative pieces that explore our climate emergency or are place-based, e.g Tasmania.
As a cross-disciplinary research network, we welcome contributions from all fields, such as law, ethics, political science studies, communications and media studies, sustainability or climate science studies, social research, psychology, economics, energy studies, health, agriculture, business, human rights, the arts, social movements. We are also interested in what universities are doing as institutions in the sustainability/climate space. We envisage contributions of shorter and longer length. If you are interested, contact Jan by email-Jan.Linehan@utas.edu.au
30 October 2019
Focus on climate litigation
We are relaunching our climate justice network blog with a great survey of climate litigation, People over profits: Learning from the rise in climate change lawsuits by Rebecca Bynes, a policy analyst with the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics and Politic Science, which draws on her work with Dr Joana Setzer in the Institute’s policy report ‘Global trends in climate change litigation: 2019 snapshot’ (July 2019). This piece is essential reading for anyone following the many climate lawsuits from around the world. You can also keep up to date by following Columbia University’s great climate decisions collection: http://climatecasechart.com
We follow the Grantham Institute’s research and suggest having a look at their website and recent posts, for example, see Professor Sam Fankhauser’s blog on Why we need more social science research on climate change, http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/news/why-we-need-more-social-science-research-on-climate-change/?mc_cid=65aa6936b2&mc_eid=2626fbb102
29 May 2019
UTLR Special Issue on Climate Justice
We are delighted to announce the Climate Justice Special Issue of the University of Tasmania Law Review is now available. This Special Issue is entitled 'Imagining a Different Future: Overcoming Barriers to Climate Justice’ and grew out of our climate justice conference in 2018. It is vol.37 number (2) 2018 and is available in print and also free online to ensure wide dissemination given of the urgency of climate change and the importance of justice considerations.
Articles
Justice and Climate Transitions by Jeremy Moss and Robyn Kath
Climate, Culture and Music: Coping in the Anthropocene by Simon Kerr (Non-Peer Reviewed Article)
Peter and Jan edited the Special issue and thank all the contributors and the student editors Kathryn Ellis, Frances Medlock, Rose Mackie and Taylor Bachand for their editorial and administrative assistance.
An electronic copy of the special issue is available on the University of Tasmania Law Review website.
15 May 2019
Voices of the Future
Future Generations & Climate Change
Young people and future generations will suffer most from the impacts of climate change. Yet their interests are not reflected in climate change decision-making, planning or law. This situation raises issues of fairness and justice and places the burden of inaction on young people and future generations. There are models in other countries that address some of these issues, such as parliamentary commissioners or independent administrative officers. More research and public discussion is needed to find appropriate and effective climate change institutions and governance models, including ones that represent the interests of future generations.
Voices of the Future is a series of three events aimed at discussing the best way to represent the issues of future generations and young people in climate change planning in the context of Tasmania, and more broadly. Voices of the Future is centered around a meeting of experts from around the world on intergenerational justice and environmental and human rights governance at the University of Tasmania’s Faculty of Law. This meeting will be preceded by a community forum and a youth workshop aimed at connecting experts in this area with Tasmanians and raising awareness about these issues.
Expert’s Workshop: 28 July 2019 (By invitation only)
Youth Workshop
27 June 2019
3.30-5.30PM
Hobart Town Hall
Sign up here.
Community Forum
27 June 2019
6:30-8:30PM
Hobart Town Hall
Find out more here.
10 October 2018
Geoengineering
The Next Frontier of Climate Change Policy?
The University of Tasmania is hosting a public panel & forum on potential geoengineering climate interventions and their and governance. It will involve leading local and visiting scientists, philosophers and community representatives.
Hosted by Australian Forum for Climate Intervention Law and Governance, and supported by the Faculty of Law, IMAS and the Climate Justice Network.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM AEDT
University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay Campus
Find out more
10 February 2018
What Next?
Imagining a Different Future: Overcoming Barriers to Climate Justice involving more than 80 speakers and 125 participants has come to a close. In 2018, we are focussing on uploading the video and audio recordings of talks from the conference to this website, contributing to a special edition of the University of Tasmania Law Review on climate justice, and thinking about the next steps, and events.
Stay tuned for more.
01 february 2018
Imagining a Different Future
Overcoming Barriers to Climate Justice
8-10 February 2018
Conference, Community Forum, Town Hall Talk, & Concert
University of Tasmania & partners, Hobart
Find out more and download the programme from our event page here.
Knowledge Hub
The videos and audio recordings from our events are uploaded to our Knowledge Hub as they become available.
Steve Vanderheiden - Town Hall Talk
More information on this talk
Has AnyBody Seen My Glacier
World premiere performance of a song cycle for soprano and string quartet by Tasmanian composer Owen Davies, with Helen Thomson, soprano, and the Pillinger String Quartet.
More climate music
External Resources
If you are interested in different aspects of climate justice, intergenerational justice, environmental justice, equity, ethics, transitional justice, or climate law, you can learn more at these sources:
Voices of the Future
Future Generations & Climate Change
27-28 June 2019
Young people and future generations will suffer most from the impacts of climate change. Yet their interests are not reflected in climate change decision-making, planning or law. Experts on sustainability, human rights, and institutions will look at possible models to address this gap for Tasmania and more broadly on 28 June at the Faculty of Law at the University of Tasmania.
The public and young people are invited to have their say at 2 free public forums on Thursday, 27 June at the Hobart Town Hall. Visiting experts from Wales and New Zealand and a local panel will lead a lively discussion 6.30 to 8.30. The Youth Workshop is 3.30-5.30 and pre-registration is essential. We acknowledge the support of the Tasmanian Government and the Hobart City Council for these forums.
