To secure the rights of future generations to live in a safe and secure world will be an important agenda for the upcoming ‘Summit Of The Future’ convened by the United Nations to drive demands for climate justice.

About Summit of the Future 2024

• The Summit is a high-level event which brings world leaders together to build a new international consensus on how to deliver a better present and safeguard the future.
• Origin: The idea of the Summit first emerged in 2020 with the UN’s 75th anniversary starting a global conversation about hopes and fears for the future.
  • UN Secretary-General António Guterres came up with a report ie. “Our Common Agenda”, which recommends a renewed global cooperation to address a host of risks and threats, and a proposal to hold a forward-looking summit in 2024.
• Place of Summit: It will be held at the United Nation headquarters in New York.
• Aim of The Summit: 
  • Accelerate efforts to meet our existing international commitments
  • Take concrete steps to respond to emerging challenges and opportunities.
• Goal: To realize a world or an international system that is better prepared to manage the challenges of the present and the future, for the sake of all humanity and for future generations.
• Themes: 
  • Sustainable development and financing
  • Peace and security
  • A digital future for all
  • Youth and future generations
  • Global governance
• Pact for the Future: It is an action-oriented outcome document which will be negotiated, and endorsed by countries at the United Nations Summit 2024.
  • The document will include a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations as annexes.

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What is Climate Justice?

• Climate justice connects the climate crisis to the social, racial and environmental issues in which it is deeply entangled.
• The concept insists on looking at the climate crisis from a broader perspective ie. of the unequal impacts of the changing climate on already vulnerable communities and calls for a civil right movement for a better chance at survival.
• Facets to Climate Justice:  
• • Structural inequalities: Structural inequalities based on race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status exacerbates the impact climate change have for certain communities over the other even within the same country
  • Socioeconomic Inequalities: Low-income countries and vulnerable populations everywhere are more susceptible to climate-induced loss and damage as the impacts of climate change and the resources needed to address it are distributed unequally around the world. 
  • Intergenerational Inequity: Children and young people, although not having contributed to the climate crisis in a significant way invariably will bear the full force of climate change impacts, thus their rights must be centered in all climate decision-making and action.

Intergenerational Climate Justice- The Rights of the Future Generation

• Intergenerational Climate Justice is grounded in the idea of Sustainable Development and the related concept of intergenerational equity.
• Pillars: The two concepts forms the three main pillars of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ie.

• • Humanity’s collective duties to the future
  • Creating new global public goods to be enjoyed by present and future generations alike
  • Inclusive governance and decision-making.

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• Dimensions: It is a multidimensional concept which encompasses the concept of, 
  • Common but Historical Responsibility: Accepting the responsibility for past and current greenhouse gas emissions
  • Distributive Justice: The distribution of endowment and natural resources equally
  • Restorative Justice: The restoration of earth systems and relationships between humans and nature
  • Procedural Justice: Fairness in governance structures in decision-making
• Guidelines and principles on intergenerational justice and equity:
  • The Maastricht Principles on The Human Rights of Future Generations: The Principles were adopted in Maastricht on 3 February 2023 clearly linking  sustainable development and climate justice discourses to the rights of future generations with its 36 principle.
    • Human rights extend to all members of the human family, including both present and future generations. 
  • Common Principles on Future Generations: The UN endorsed the Common Principles on Future Generations in 2023, to ensure that UN agencies pursue actions, establish meaningful representations and foster partnerships and capabilities in the interests of future generations.
  • The Call to Action- Rights of Future Generations of the UN : It recognizes that the objectives of  environmental actions and sustainable development will be achieved only when they are informed by human rights. 
  • Article 73 of Zimbabwe’s Constitution:  It states that every person has the right to a protected environment for the benefit of present and future generations
• Climate Justice through Litigation: 
  • In Future Generations v. Ministry of the Environment and Others Case: This landmark judgment ordered the Columbian government to formulate and implement an inter-generational pact for the life of the Colombian Amazon advancing the principles of intergenerational solidarity
  • In Goa Foundation v. Union of India & Ors: The Supreme Court in India created a de facto trust fund for future generations.
  • M.K. Ranjitsinh & Ors. v. Union of India March 21, 2024: The Supreme Court of India  expanded the interpretation of the Right to Life (Article 21) and the Right to Equality (Article 14) to include protection against the adverse effects of climate change.

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