How can policy and policymaking foster climate justice? A qualitative systematic review.

ABSTRACT

Background: Climate change research has established general requirements for policy and policymaking transformational changes in policy and policymaking to foster 'climate justice', including a 'just transition' or movement towards environmental sustainability with equitable processes and outcomes. However, there is a major gap between these requirements and actual policies and policy processes. We identify how researchers use policy theories to understand this gap. Methods: We conducted a qualitative systematic review (2022) to identify peer reviewed journal articles on climate change, policy, justice, and equity in three databases (Web of Science, Scopus, Proquest). Each article had to provide a non-trivial reference to policymaking concepts or theories. We used an immersive and inductive approach to identify key themes and show how the use of policy concepts and theories informs climate change research. Results: A total of 108 texts meet the inclusion criteria (with some bias towards Global North research since all texts are in English). Most provide general definitions of climate justice, require fair outcomes and processes, and list what is required to meet those aims. However, they also identify unjust processes and outcomes in relation to who is recognised, gets to define the problem, and wins or loses from solutions. Researchers contrast their preferred social justice approach (informing 'civic environmentalism) to a dominant neoliberal approach (corresponding to weak 'ecological modernization'). Conclusions: Researchers focus on what they need from policy and policymaking to produce climate justice. Few engage meaningfully with policy theories to describe how policymaking actually works. More engagement would help to set meaningful expectations regarding policy change and avoid a needless tendency to treat policymaking like a 'black box'.

There is a strong and coherent message in environmental research climate change represents an urgent global crisis. Although it is everyone's problem, there are major inequalities regarding who causes it and who suffers its impact the most. These problems relate not only to geography but also factors such as income, gender, and race. Governments need to address climate change by transitioning to sustainable energy, transport, food, and other systems. They need to ensure climate justice by fostering inclusive policy processes (who is heard, and who defines the problem?) plus equitable contributions (who pays to solve the problem?) and outcomes (who wins or loses?). They also need to collaborate to create fair policy processes that produce both transformational and equitable policy change. However, this research struggles to explain the gap between these requirements versus actual policies and policymaking. To some extent, the cause seems obvious there is too much empty talk by powerful political actors, and too little motivation or political will to do the right thing. Yet, policy theories show that these gaps also have systemic causes that would persist even when addressed by sincere and energetic policymakers. Therefore, our objective is to identify how environmental researchers engage with policy theories to better understand and address this problem. Generally speaking, studies criticise the dominance of one approach that rejects radical change and puts too much faith in market mechanisms and technological innovation. Few studies use policy theories to identify how policy processes could facilitate a radically new approach. More conceptual engagement would help to set meaningful expectations for policy change and avoid a tendency to treat policymaking like a mysterious 'black box' rather than a well-studied process.