The case for Climate Justice
This session looks at the real, human impact of the climate crisis in Malawi, now and in the future. It compares the likely impacts in Malawi and Scotland, and compares the relative contribution which each nation has made to causing the climate crisis in terms of carbon emissions. It takes a social justice approach, highlighting both instances of positive cooperation between Scotland and Malawi in the area of climate justice, and instances where the global north has repeatedly failed to deliver pledges for such support.
| Learning outcome | Learning intention |
|---|---|
| Understands some of the current, and likely future, impacts of climate change in Malawi, and how this compares with Scotland. | I can see how the climate crisis will affect people in Malawi and Scotland differently |
| Understands how little Malawi has done to cause the climate crisis and sees the injustice in this | I see how unfair it is that Malawi hasn’t caused the problem but will suffer the most |
| Understands and can define ‘climate justice’ | I know what ‘climate justice’ is |
| Understands and values climate action through partnership and solidarity but recognises much more is needed at a higher level | I can see that good things are happening between Scotland and Malawi to fight the climate crisis but we’re not doing enough |
Teacher notes: Introduction to this session:
We appreciate that both you and your students will have an idea of what climate justice is and what it means. The intention here is to provide resources that will assist you in contextualising what climate justice means to your school partnership. What does the fight for climate justice look like and mean to students living in Scotland and to those living in Malawi? What are the similarities and where is the common ground? How can your partnership support one another to ensure that climate justice is addressed and tackled in a constructive, positive way. We appreciate that you are the experts in terms of answering these 'wicket problems' and therefore we rely on you to feedback to us at the SMP so we can ensure our resources are as relevant and up to date as possible.
As with all of the critical learning resources, there are no ‘right answers’ here. However, we firmly believe that through discussion and dialogue a deeper understanding and confidence can be achieved.
This is a hugely important area but we recognise it is complex, sensitive and important to get right. As presented here, it is most suitable for upper-secondary but many aspects of this lesson could be adapted for different age and stages.
This resource is made up of four sections:
- Climate Change in Scotland and Malawi.
- Malawi’s Impact on the climate.
- Defining Climate Justice.
- Climate Action
Depending on the age level and amount of discussion, one section can lead on to the next within one lesson period. Alternatively, each section can be used separately as individual discussions.
The key learning outcomes are in a text box at the end of each section, so you can pick and choose.
The sections are framed around class discussions. There are also several short online video links to trigger discussion.
We’re here to help, so if you want any support, advice or even someone to come and deliver this lesson for you, please just email youth@scotland-malawipartnership.org.
Do No Harm:
In keeping with our principle of ‘do no harm’ we encourage teachers in delivering this lesson to be careful they do not unintentionally:
- Reinforce negative stereotypes about the global south.
- There are signs of renewed associations between African countries with ideas of vulnerability and fragility. Climate anxiety and persistent associations of children with poverty threaten to undermine attempts to dissociate Africa from vulnerability and fragility. Representations of African countries, people and themes in these contexts tend to perpetuate the idea that Africa and Africans are in need of saving, rather than fellow agents in combatting these issues. From the New Narrative Report – March 2020 M&C Saatchi world services - British Council
- Leave learners with a sense that all interaction between the global north and the global south are inherently questionable – this is not the case.
- Leave learners scared to engage internationally for fear of being called out or getting the language wrong – it is important to speak of the benefits of internationalism and global citizenship.
- Deny that extreme poverty exists in countries like Malawi, that there is significant social injustice in the inequality between countries like Scotland and Malawi, and that there is crucial value in working together with countries like Malawi to call this out and look to reduce these inequalities
- Encourage unnecessarily hostile, combative or uncompromising attitudes towards others, even those which might be guilty of elements of climate change deniers. Rather, look to build a depth of critical understanding, showing the complexity and encouraging learners to think of ways to challenge and change which are constructive and empathetic (discussing not shouting!).
- Add to Climate Anxiety. Remember to finish all discussions on a positive tone and focus on what positive actions are being taken and how to contribute to this change.
Facilitate a class discussion around the questions below, looking to draw out the following points.
Q – What are some of the effects of Climate Change and their impacts in Scotland?
Current effects:
- flooding,
- rising sea levels,
- damage to buildings and infrastructure,
- increased pests and diseases,
- warmer and wetter winters
Impact:
- we will lose homes and businesses,
- lose many types of plants and animals,
- people will be disrupted from going to work so we could have issues with shops having food, petrol and clothing to sell
- Our lives, towns and cities are not built to run without these reliable sources
Q – What is are some of the effects of Climate Change and their impacts in Malawi?
Current effects:
- droughts,
- flooding,
- shorter growing season,
- changeable weather so harder to grow food
Impact:
- 90% of Malawi’s population relies on farming for an income, the climate change can make it impossible to grow crops. .
- Reduced ability to grow food
- Hunger, 29% of Malawi’s population already live in extreme poverty. (This could lead into further discussion about poverty in both Scotland and Malawi, does climate change have an impact on this Scotland)
- Spread of disease
- Reduced power and fuel supply
- Leads to more even more poverty, ask the class why they think this happens.
Watch: How one of the world's poorest countries is bearing the brunt of climate change | ITV News
From October 2021.
Q - What are your main take aways from the video?
- What are you surprised at?
Q - Whose fault is it that Malawi’s climate is changing?
- The reporter states that, “Malawi is caught in a cycle of destruction. Some of it self-inflicted.”
- Why do you think is meant by this?
- Is it fair? Why or why not?
Q - Which country do you think climate change has a greater effect on?
- Climate change has had an effect on both countries but the severity is different due to each nation’s ability to adapt.
Q - Is the climate crisis our own personal fault?
- Yes and no. The global north is responsible for the majority of climate change due to industrialisation and its consumer practices. Generationally, the fault can be placed on those before us. However, this does not change the reality of the present and action is required by everyone today if the climate crisis is to be tackled.
Additional resources pertaining to Malawi’s climate crisis:
Alarm as Malawi's Lake Chilwa threatened by climate change -https://youtu.be/sihsOmWaX6I
- Understand that Scotland and Malawi’s climate crisis has several similarities.
- Understand that the severity of climate change differs due to economic and political reasons.
This section explores and demonstrates both the UK and Malawi’s global emissions and their relative impact.
Watch the following video, 'A Short History of Global Emissions from Fossil-Fuel Burning (1750-2010)'.
Rewatch and ask students to focus on the UK and Malawi on the map. Pause the video at approximately 0:25 (1967). Malawi is visible only by identifying Lake Malawi. What differences do they notice in terms of fossil-fuel burning activity.
By following this link, the class can explore the timeline and see the UK’s percentage world share of emissions: Global Historical Emissions Map (aureliensaussay.github.io)
Share this website which uses an animated, distorted, shaded, interactive map to help convey how different countries fit into the climate change picture – both the causes and the risks.
Finally, watch this video to see a bar chart race of the countries with the largest cumulative CO2 emissions since 1750.
Q - Which country has omitted more CO2 into the atmosphere?
- Scotland and the UK have contributed far more
Q – What are the major differences between Scotland and Malawi’s historical development in terms of carbon emissions?
- Industrialisation
- Deforestation
- To realise that the global north has contributed the majority of carbon emissions to date.
- That despite not contributing to the climate crisis, Malawi is experiencing severe effects from it.
Q – What do you think Climate Justice means?
- Explore what climate justice means to students based on what they have previously learnt or have heard in the news
Climate justice is a concept that addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the benefits and burdens of climate change and responsibilities to deal with climate change.
Watch the video below, 'Climate Justice According to a Kid'.
Q3 – Should the global south be expected to address the climate crisis in the same way as the global north in terms of carbon reductions and adoption of green technologies?
- Is it fair or even realistic for nations not responsible for the climate crisis to fix it?
- After students have discussed the question, what the video below.
In the below perspective-shifting talk, energy researcher Rose M. Mutiso makes the case for prioritizing Africa's needs with what's left of the world's carbon budget, to foster growth and equitably achieve a smaller global carbon footprint.
Additional resources
Exploring Climate Justice: A human rights-based approach
Climate Justice Education — IDEAS (ideas-forum.org.uk)
This resource has been developed as a partnership collaboration between WOSDEC, the ThirdGeneration Project, the Royal Society of Chemistry, ScotDEC, and Eco Active Learning, with the assistance of Oxfam through the European Union.
Keep Scotland Beautiful
second-level-climate-justice.pdf (keepscotlandbeautiful.org)
This learning journey explores climate justice in the context of the Scotland Lights up Malawi Project. Through exploring and investigating different sources of evidence pupils will be able to compare and contrast Scotland with Malawi to develop reasoned and justified views on issues surrounding climate justice.
Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF)
Climate Justice: Called to Care for Creation (sciaf.org.uk)
This resource provides learners with the real-life perspective on the effects of climate change on people and planet. It shares the voices of SCIAF partners who live in the world’s poorest countries, and who are most affected by climate change, but have done least to cause the problem.
‘While 91% of farmers in the US have crop insurance to cover losses in the event of extreme weather, only 15% of farmers in India are covered, 10% in China and just 1% or less in Malawi and most low-income countries.’ - Oxfam 2015 - mb-extreme-carbon-inequality-021215-en.pdf (oxfam.org)
‘Climate vulnerability: as the world becomes increasingly cognizant of the threat of climate change, historical associations of African countries with precarity have begun to take on a new form. As a result, the focus tends towards representations of African countries as subject to disasters caused by climate change, rather than on the leading role of young Africans in helping to combat a global challenge.’ - New Narratives Report, 2020 new_narratives_report_0.pdf (britishcouncil.org)
Q - What can I do?
- This is where dialogue with your partner school is vital.
- What issues are most affecting your partners?
- What actions have they tried to take?
- What campaigns and actions can your school partnership take?
- Is tree planting, recycling and active transport enough to save the planet?
‘The discussion we had about climate change was quite eye-opening as despite living on the otherside of the world, our partners for the storytelling session still worried about
issues like climate change just as we did. Before the session I hadn’t realised climate change was a problem in Malawi but hearing the impact that deforestation can have on communities completely changed my views.’ - Feasibility Study report | steka (stekaskills.com)
Related resources and articles on Climate Action
Friends of the Earth International
Watch our animation to understand how the dirty energy system is at the root of climate injustice. The solution? No more dirty energy, we need an energy revolution now. Join us www.foei.org
https://youtu.be/lOKvBF_4n4g
Global Climate Emergency - Do Nothing or do Net Zero?
Climate Emergency | Net Zero Nation
8 Empowered Ecofeminists Fighting for Justice (healthline.com)
Oxfam
Take action for climate justice | Oxfam GB
Aimed at teachers and educators, this short guide is packed with practical advice, classroom activities and helpful planning tools to inspire young people to take action for climate justice at school.
- That students can identify actions that they can personally and as a school partnership take that will have a positive step in addressing the climate crisis.
- Students appreciate the value of co-creating actions with partners that are based on shared concerns and aspirations.