Climate justice within the Western Australian context looks at transformative approaches at the root cause of the problem through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and guidance of Lived Experience Expertise.
A mindset shift considers a shift from extractive and exploitative approaches (white supremacist, simplistic solutions, linear processes, ticking the box, etc.) to an equitable and regenerative approach (diverse and intersectional, accountability, informed communities, deep listening, etc.)
(Source: Climate Justice Playbook)
1. Changing the whole system, not just small parts (transformative approaches and practice)
Transformative solutions require rethinking core systems like energy, agriculture, and the economy. Moving away from fossil fuels to community-owned renewable energy not only promotes environmental sustainability but also builds community resilience by fostering local control, equity and independence (Adapted from: WEDO Global Feminist Framework).
Beyond energy shift
Simply moving from fossil fuels to clean energy isn’t enough. We must also address and dismantle the power structures that allow big corporations to control our resources, energy systems, and democracy. Community-led solutions offer vital, localised responses to climate change. Some examples are:
- Investments in projects that focus on sustainable agriculture, water conservation, and renewable energy foster resilience.
- Supporting cooperatives, especially those led by Indigenous Peoples and women, and empowering local organisations are core steps toward sustainable, just climate action (Source: WEDO Global Feminist Framework).
- Community-led renewable energy, water justice and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership. Community-led renewable energy initiatives decentralise power, granting communities autonomy over their energy resources. This approach aligns with climate justice by directly benefiting local economies and advancing equitable energy solutions. In Australia, the First Nations Clean Energy Network promotes community-driven solar and wind projects that empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
(Source: Climate Justice Alliance lists the following as principles for a just transition)
Case studies:
- First Nations Clean Energy Network
- Original Power
- The South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC), which has worked with the WA Government to ensure that Aboriginal cultural values and interests are incorporated into water management policies.
- The Kimberley Land Council (KLC) is involved in promoting the inclusion of traditional ecological knowledge in water governance in the Kimberley region.
- The First Nations Environmental Watering Guidance Project is a national initiative that collaborates with Aboriginal communities to incorporate Indigenous water management knowledge into broader environmental planning.
Read more:
Water and Indigenous People, Australia State of the Environment Report 2021
Reclaiming power: The rapid rise of community renewable energy and why the added benefits of local, clean power can help accelerate transition (Rapid Transition)
Introducing the First Nations Clean Energy Network (First Nations Clean Energy Network Australia)
Climate Justice Statement (Solar Citizens – Australia)
2. Centering Country and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and knowledges
Centring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and cultural practices enhances the effectiveness of climate responses, reflecting sustainable methods. Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander management respects these practices while promoting biodiversity and ecosystem resilience (adopted from: WEDO Global Feminist Framework).
The Indigenous Peoples Organisation Australia has created the following paper with overarching priorities for climate and environment:
- Self-Determination and Informed Consent: Embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights to self-determination and ‘Free, Prior, and Informed Consent’ across all levels of climate and environmental policy, ensuring these communities guide decisions impacting their lands and livelihoods.
- Ambitious Emission Reductions: Target a 75% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, reaching net-zero by 2035.
- Renewable Energy Transition: Achieve 100% renewable energy nationwide within the next decade, coupled with an end to subsidies for fossil fuel industries.
- Fossil Fuel Phase-Out: Cease new coal and fossil fuel developments and phase out coal by 2030, alongside an immediate transition from all fossil fuels.
- Ban on Fracking: Abolish coal seam gas fracking, acknowledging its environmental and social risks.
- Proven Energy Solutions: Avoid unproven or controversial technologies like Carbon Capture and Storage and nuclear power in the national energy policy.
- Forest Conservation and Reforestation: Maintain existing natural forests and incentivise reforestation with native flora to support biodiversity.
- Access to Clean Water and Sustainable Housing: Guarantee Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities access to clean water, quality housing, and solar-powered, climate-appropriate public housing.
- Water Access and Management: Halt the commodification of river waters, ensuring Aboriginal communities and ecosystems have consistent, accessible water sources.
- Indigenous Economic Empowerment: Develop frameworks and investments to support Indigenous business initiatives in emerging renewable industries, encouraging economic benefits from the energy transition.
- Just Transition for Workers: Establish a just transition strategy, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment targets in climate abatement and renewable energy sectors.
- Expansion of Indigenous Ranger Program: Extend the Indigenous Ranger Program to all Aboriginal communities, ensuring it remains community-controlled and locally responsive.
Read more:
Engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
3. Sharing power and resources with community
Communities know their needs best and, therefore, lead the most effective and just climate solutions. Locally-led climate actions, such as community-driven disaster management and sustainable agriculture, centre Indigenous knowledges and promote long-term resilience. Supporting these initiatives respects and uplifts local cultures and ecosystems (Source: WEDO Global Feminist Framework).
Women, especially those from marginalised and Indigenous communities, are at the forefront of climate action. Effective climate policies must amplify women’s voices and leverage their knowledges. For instance, supporting women-led sustainable farming initiatives improves food security while mitigating climate impacts (Source: WEDO Global Feminist Framework).
Redistributing power is critical to climate justice, especially in addressing colonial and neoliberal systems that harm historically and systemically marginalised communities. In Australia, for example, supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination and environmental leadership is vital. Reallocating resources from fossil fuels to renewable energy, prioritising public over corporate interests, and challenging patriarchal norms are all necessary for equity.
Sharing power and resources as a genuine climate justice solution involves confronting the historical legacies of colonialism, the impacts of neoliberalism, patriarchal structures, and the rise of fascism. In the Australian context, it is essential to recognise the historical injustices experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples during colonial times, and understand how injustices continue to impact communities today. Climate justice demands dismantling neoliberal economic policies that often exacerbate environmental degradation and disproportionately affect marginalised communities. Additionally, challenging patriarchal norms is essential, recognising that gender inequalities intersect with climate vulnerabilities. Moreover, resisting the rise of fascism is vital to safeguard democratic processes and prevent authoritarian measures that could hinder collective efforts toward sustainable and just solutions. Redistributing power encompasses addressing these interconnected issues to create a more inclusive, equitable, and resilient society in the face of climate challenges.
Case Study:
Redistribution of power and resources in Water Justice: Handing over control to First Nations
4. Building networks of support and multi-species solidarity
Partnerships across movements—feminist, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and environmental—strengthen climate justice by promoting collaborative, cross-border and multi-species solidarity. Such networks enable community service organisations and communities to challenge exploitative practices, advocate for fairer policies, and amplify their collective voice (Adopted from WEDO Global Feminist Framework).
Effective climate justice addresses not only environmental issues but also social inequalities. Intersectional solutions highlight the experiences of women, Indigenous communities, and other marginalised groups and ensure the achievement of equitable rights, power and access (Source: WEDO Global Feminist Framework).
Read more:
Joining the climate justice movement
Climate justice advocacy and campaigns
Collaborative Action Framework, Centre for Just Places
Intersectional climate justice and resilience
5. Making polluters accountable
Climate justice requires holding polluters accountable. Fossil fuel companies, as major contributors to climate change, must bear responsibility for the damage they cause. This includes enforcing emission caps, requiring compensation for harm, and halting new fossil fuel projects. Divesting from fossil fuels and investing in community-led alternatives are pivotal steps toward accountability (Source: WEDO Global Feminist Framework).
Read more:
Assessing organisational footprint
6. Creating fair policies, laws and strong democracies
Governments play a vital role in a just transition, which must include policies that prioritise equity, respect Indigenous land rights, and elevate women’s voices. For instance, laws protecting Indigenous territories help sustain natural resources and reinforce local stewardship (Source: WEDO Global Feminist Framework).
A “just transition” is the idea of making the shift to a sustainable, low-carbon economy fair for everyone (Source: Climate Justice Alliance). It means supporting workers and communities who might be negatively affected by climate policies. This approach ensures that the benefits of change are shared equally, and no one is left behind.
A rights-based approach to climate justice acknowledges the fundamental rights of all people to live in a safe environment free from exploitation. Policies should focus on protecting Indigenous land rights and securing tenure for communities practising sustainable management (Source: Climate Council). This approach ensures that those with direct ties to the land can lead conservation efforts, promoting ecological resilience.
6.1. Media diversity laws, social media and AI regulation for democracy
Social Media and AI regulation for democracy
Social media platforms and AI technologies significantly influence public opinion, often prioritising engagement over truth and enabling disinformation. The rise of AI amplifies these risks, with tools capable of generating deepfakes, targeted propaganda, and algorithmic biases.
Effective regulation should:
- Combat Disinformation: Enforce transparency in content moderation and implement safeguards against AI-driven media manipulation. (Source: Kitware)
- Promote Accountability: Hold platforms and AI developers accountable for content amplification and misuse that threaten democratic processes. (Source: Sciences Po School of Law, Carnegie Endowment)
- Strengthen Integrity: Support independent media and establish norms to counteract AI-generated misinformation and election interference. (Source: Thrivability Matters, Lawfare Media)
- Empower Users: Enhance media literacy to help citizens identify manipulated content and ensure transparent algorithms and AI systems. (Source: The Guardian, Kitware)
Media diversity for climate justice
Media diversity is vital for democracy and climate justice, ensuring varied perspectives and limiting monopolistic control that suppresses alternative voices. Independent media amplifies environmental and social justice issues, fostering transparency and informed public discourse. Regulatory frameworks must address traditional media ownership and challenges posed by social media and AI-driven technologies.
Media diversity laws ensure a multiplicity of voices in climate discourse. Key measures include:
- Limiting Ownership: Prevent monopolies that suppress alternative views.
- Supporting Local Media: Encourage independent outlets to cover grassroots climate actions.
- Exposing Greenwashing: Highlight false solutions and industry tactics undermining genuine efforts.
Read more:
Climate conscious media & media literacy
Australians for a Murdoch Royal Commission
False climate solutions and undermining tactics
6.2. Protest laws
The right to protest is fundamental to democracy, enabling citizens to hold leaders accountable and demand climate policies aligned with public interest. Protecting protest rights ensures a pathway for communities to express concerns about environmental justice, challenge harmful practices, and advocate for equitable climate policies.
Read more:
Climate conscious media & media literacy
False climate solutions and undermining tactics
6.3. Freedom of Information (FOI) and whistleblower protections
Access to government and corporate information is vital for exposing environmental impacts and policy shortcomings. Strengthening FOI laws and protecting whistleblowers allows the media and the public to hold entities accountable for practices that harm the climate and marginalised communities, fostering transparency and justice.
Read more:
Climate conscious media & media literacy
6.4. Equitable participation in climate decision-making
Inclusive decision-making processes are central to climate justice, ensuring that marginalised groups—particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and those most affected by climate change—are actively involved in shaping policies. Frameworks that prioritise these voices ensure that climate solutions are both fair and effective, rooted in the lived experiences of frontline communities. A gender-equitable, participatory democracy is essential for a Feminist Fossil Fuel Free Future (APWLD).
Read more:
Engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
Engaging People with Lived Experience
The Climate Load, Women’s Agenda Report
6.5. Limiting corporate influence on climate policies
Maintaining democratic integrity means resisting corporate influence, especially from fossil fuel industries, which often lobby against just climate action. Enforcing regulations and transparency in corporate lobbying can prevent policy manipulation, ensuring that climate actions serve the public good rather than corporate interests (Source: Feminist Fossil Fuel Free Future [APWLD] and Centre for Public Integrity).
6.6. Global socio-ecological tax reforms & social wage
To enable investment in public resources, a Global Tax Body is needed to address tax evasion and competition. A Social Wage system would ensure fairer distribution of paid work and provide people with more time to engage in sustainable and equitable living practices (Source: Feminist Fossil Fuel Free Future [APWLD]).
Read more:
Tax Reform for the Common Good, Association Council of Social Services (ACOSS)
6.7. Transforming agriculture & food sovereignty
Industrial agriculture is a major contributor to climate change. We need to shift power from big agribusiness to small-scale food producers and promote agroecological farming (Source: Feminist Fossil Fuel Free Future [APWLD]).
Read more:
6.8. Investing in the commons & community leadership
Market dynamics often disadvantage women. Investing in public resources like transport, green spaces, housing, and shared tools can benefit both climate and gender equality (Source: Feminist Fossil Fuel Free Future [APWLD]).
Read more:
Climate justice advocacy and campaigns
Assessing organisational footprint
7. Integrating climate justice in professional development and community service organisation practices
Integrating climate justice in educational curricula fosters critical awareness, empowering students with knowledge of environmental activism and social justice movements (Australian Education Union). Organisationally, adopting climate justice principles ensures fair responses to climate change, aligning decision-making with community needs, particularly those most impacted by environmental harm (Source: WEDO Global Feminist Framework).
Building capacity for climate justice through professional development
Professional development helps staff and leaders understand climate justice’s complexities, allowing them to share and implement sustainable practices that reflect social equity.
Read more:
What is climate justice and why is it important?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and community-led education and advocacy
Climate justice approaches centre the knowledges and leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Community service organisations can work towards this by building strong, genuine, and non-extractive relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders and communities in their region and by establishing safe long-term organisational structures in which their cultural direction and shared-decision making can be embedded.
Read more:
Engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
Organisational integration of climate justice principles
Organisations should embed climate justice into policies and practices, ensuring fair, inclusive responses to climate change that consider marginalised communities’ needs.
Read more:
Climate justice principles workshop
Intersectionality and climate justice in practice
Incorporating an intersectional approach in climate justice ensures that strategies consider the unique and varied needs of different communities, helping to prevent inequality in how climate action is carried out.
Read more:
Intersectional climate justice and resilience
Embedding climate justice in leadership and governance
Leaders and governance structures must embrace climate justice, prioritising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and community participation, transparency, and shared decision-making. Collaborating with frontline communities ensures educational materials and advocacy tools reflect the knowledges, experiences and needs of those most affected by climate change, amplifying their voices.
Read more:
Engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Processes for Lived Experience Engagement
Research and policy advocacy on climate justice
Research linking climate change with social justice issues supports policy advocacy for fair climate solutions that address the root causes of inequality, such as colonialism, capitalism, white supremacy and patriarchy.
Read more:
Monitoring, evaluation and research
