What Is Climate Justice?
Dr. Tracey Osborne reframes climate change as a systemic social justice issue rooted in colonialism, inequality, and unsustainable development. She highlights the urgency of limiting warming to 1.5°C, centering marginalized communities, Indigenous leadership, and just transitions through examples like Ecuador’s Yasuni ITT and the Green New Deal.
Learning Objectives
The learning objectives for this lecture are to:
- Understand the urgency of climate change
- Define and understand key themes of climate justice
- Understand the root causes of climate change
- Explore examples of climate justice and reasons for optimism
Dr. Tracey Osborne is Associate Professor at UC Merced and founding director of the UC Center for Climate Justice. Her research examines climate change mitigation, Indigenous rights, and climate equity, with fieldwork in Mexico and the Amazon.
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