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Towards climate justice? Young climate activists in Finland on fairness and moderation

2021; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 25; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13676261.2021.1923677

1469-9680

Mikko Piispa, Tomi Kiilakoski,

Sustainability and Climate Change Governance

The youth climate movement is known for its demands that political leaders listen to the views of scientists. Behind this argumentation, however, are multiple values, ideals, and statements for how societies should change in order to become more just and avoid the worst of the climate crisis. This article analyses how young climate activists in Finland understand climate justice, how they regard the current society as socio-ecologically unjust, and how, in their views, these injustices should be addressed. The analysis is based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews (n = 18) conducted during 2020. A theory of justice by John Rawls is applied as a theoretical framework. The results reveal that the status quo is regarded as unjust by climate activists in various dimensions: individual, socio-economic, intergenerational, global, and ecological. However, it was also found that a shared interpretation of climate justice is hard to reach, resulting in a pluralism of views on how the climate crisis should be tackled in a socio-ecologically sound manner. Common ground is found in moderation, which interconnects values and practices and points toward a 'fairer' society. Moderation and 'slowing down' are a point of departure for societal change.