CJI Surya Kant advocacy for climate justice

During the High-Level Commonwealth Policy Dialogue on Climate Justice in London, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant advocated for systemic legal and economic reforms to address climate change inequities.

Initially, the Chief Justice called for the establishment of a specific legal status for individuals displaced by climate change, arguing that current refugee and migration laws are insufficient. He emphasized that judicial institutions must provide legal certainty for vulnerable populations while balancing environmental protection with economic development.

Subsequently, Kant expanded his focus to the global energy transition, calling for a fair distribution of the burdens associated with moving to renewable power. He highlighted a ‘double injustice’ involving the unequal vulnerability of certain regions and the unequal costs of transitioning. He noted that industrializing nations face pressure to adopt renewables despite developed nations having built their economies on fossil fuels for centuries. Additionally, he warned that the extraction of minerals required for green technology, such as lithium and cobalt, must not create ‘new forms of environmental hardship’ for local communities.