GREEN ROOM: LIVE WEBINAR
Summary of the Discussion
The discussion kicked off with a brief introduction of our guest, Prof Randall S. Abate, Professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology, at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. by our amiable moderator Dr. Duygu Sever Mehmetoğlu
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Randall S. Abate is the inaugural Rechnitz Family and Urban Coast Institute Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy, and a Professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology, at Monmouth University.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
S. Duygu Sever is a passionate researcher who works on the intertwined relationship between energy politics, sustainability and human security. She holds a PhD in Political Science and International Relations at Koç University, Turkey.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Moderator: So Professor, let's start with the basics. You are using a very interesting, striking, and important term The Voiceless while talking about climate change and the efforts to mitigate its impact. What does the term Voiceless stand for?
Prof. Randall: Well, I used this term deliberately in the book to represent those that are not able to represent their own interests under the law. So, the three categories that I've identified in the book share that common vulnerability when we talk about future generations of humans such as youth that are not yet able to vote and the unborn, and wildlife and natural resources. They share a common vulnerability of not being able to represent their interest in the legal system and therefore they need human guardians and advocates to step in to protect their interest, to account for their concerns because they're not able to participate on their own behalf. And so the term of the voiceless does have other meanings outside of this book project and I certainly respect those references as well. For instance, sometimes voiceless can refer to other marginalized communities of humans who aren't adequately protected under the law but for purposes of this book project, it's those three categories only.
Sabika: Thank you for having me on your show. Thank you. My name is Sabika and I'm calling in from Qatar and I suppose I'd like to just briefly tap into your expertise at law. And as we all know that climate change is just not a simple issue, It is not only an environmental issue, It is an issue that is a social issue and economic issue, a racial one, a gender, ableism, a moral issue, just so many layers but when it comes to law, which is a mechanism to kind of figure this all out, in your opinion has the field of law involved enough to allow representation from these, you know vulnerable groups if you will and even in the field of law and law schools and what have you, has environmental law developed enough to be powerful? Do you see a specialist out there?
Prof. Randall: Thank you very much for that question Sabika. I am encouraged by the developments in the US, I can certainly speak too much directly just in the past decade that environmental justice as a field has really become much more recognized and respected as a way of seeking to promote change on these issues and just with the Biden administration some very progressive thinking people on the notion of environmental justice and how that fits into climate change and sustainability have been appointed. So I have some hope there, but more importantly at what I am most encouraged by is that there are a lot of efforts creative efforts in the courts with climate change litigation over the past decade and it wasn't so much about which cases won or lost in the court. But what was encouraging to me about it was that it really transformed climate Justice into a movement into a social movement and I've seen that very much reflected in the youth in American society now that climate justice is very much a rallying cry like black lives matter and like me too. It's a galvanizing of this demand for social justice and how we move forward and so environmental justice is a very important piece of those when used to be different social issues. And now we're seeing those come together in today's youth in the US and that is also informing who that generation is voting for who's ultimately getting into state and federal political offices to be able to reflect the will of the public and set agendas on these issues.
Sabika: Thank you so much and do I have an opportunity to ask one more question then
Moderator: Sure, please do.
Sabika: Okay, perfect. So, I mean I understand that capitalism has been the driving force of economies worldwide and you also touched upon this in your earlier discussion, but I guess the alarming fact is that it's also the driving force behind the developing economies that are almost myopically kind of going on this narrow path of rapid development and it tends to kind of emphasize individual prosperity over the more global kind of thinking. So I suppose the question is that is there a space within capitalism that is being practiced in developing countries to look at actions towards climate change as a win-win situation as opposed to a zero-sum game. Are there any ways to make it, you know, the defects of climate change less conceptually distant because at the moment there seems to be very limited pressure to have these sustainable mechanisms in place, especially in this new kind of economies?
Prof. Randall: That's a great question. So I think that kind of reflects back on this notion of climate in the climate change negotiations, the notion of common but differentiated responsibilities in how we need to move forward as a global community to address climate change, and what that really means is that the developed countries have a higher responsibility to lead these transitions away from our bad habits whether it be capitalism or fossil fuels or factory farming and essentially the developing world is entitled to financial and technical assistance from the developed world to help them make that transition in a slower way because they lack the means and in fact, they're entitled to their engagement of those capitalism mechanisms to advance their economics because the developed world had that opportunity and exploited it and it shouldn't be well now there's no room for the developing world to engage in that more short-term capitalistic frame. But the reality is that we're all more informed about what it means to be sustainable. So even with that slower transition in the developing world away from capitalism, there needs to be more sustainable minded thinking and how those capitalistic efforts can move forward. There's no right to exploit the environment. There is a right to develop in a way that's going to sustain the economies of those developing countries without being unduly burdensome on the environment. And so I think that's where there really is this moral and political and economic responsibility in the developed world to support that transition and that hasn't gone as well as hoped. If there's anything that has come out of the past three decades of climate negotiations, It's that the developed world especially countries like the US have not embraced that moral responsibility and the developing world is just pushing back and saying it shouldn't land in our shoulders and as has been very frustrated by that reality.
Sabika: Thank you. Dr. Randall. Thank you so much.
Prof. Randall: Thank you for the questions.
Favourite Quote
“The Voiceless represents those that are not able to represent their own interests under the law.”
“What Sustainability really means is that it really requires us to adopt more of an ecocentric way of looking and moving forward as inhabitants of this planet.”
Top Comment
Prof. Abate is an inspiration, his work in social equity, climate justice and clarifications on sustainable development is indeed profound, relevant and needed.- Chris Chinapoo