Transformative Transitional Justice and Climate Action: Nurturing Synergies for Climate Justice
- Posted on
- In Publications, Research
- by Jasmina Brankovic and Samuel Sontag
In the face of rapidly escalating but unevenly distributed harms, global climate governance is struggling to prevent catastrophic warming while addressing growing demands for climate justice. This paper proposes transformative transitional justice as a lens through which to identify two sources of climate justice action: elements of justice latent within climate policy architectures, and community justice actions too often overlooked by formal institutions. It identifies ways to connect these institutional and community-level elements into a broader, multi-level justice ecosystem.
The paper first identifies several entry points within the global climate framework to advance climate justice. It then provides insights into key findings from participatory research into community-led climate actions in Malawi and the Philippines, highlighting that affected communities are already pursuing climate justice actions that align with transformative transitional justice principles. The research shows the need for integrating communities' braided experience of harm and articulations of justice with the institutional infrastructure of the global climate regime to enable more transformative climate justice.
Transformative Transitional Justice and Climate Action - Brankovic and Sontag 2026
Dr. Jasmina Brankovic is Senior Research Adviser at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. With a focus on participatory methods, Jasmina conducts research on inequality and socioeconomic transformation, climate justice, narrative change, and civil society strategies in transitional contexts. Her publications include 'Violence, Inequality and Transformation: Apartheid Survivors on South Africa's Ongoing Transition' (2020), 'The Global Climate Regime and Transitional Justice' (2018) and 'Advocating Transitional Justice in Africa: The Role of Civil Society' (2018). She has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Marburg (Centre for Conflict Studies).
Samuel Sontag
Samuel Sontag is an international legal researcher whose work focuses on transitional justice,
human rights, and climate justice.
