Environment > Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice

Climate change: Caused by the richest nations, felt first and hardest by the poorest nations

The Mayor has published a report which considers how the actions we take at home can adversely affect the communities with which we are linked all around the world.

The report discusses London’s role in tackling climate change and includes profiles of communities in London with links to countries and continents who will be affected first and hardest by climate change: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and China. In particular, the report includes information about what London is doing to tackle its emissions, and how Londoners can help.

We do not have to reduce our quality of life to tackle climate change but we do need to change the way we live. If we achieve a reduction in emissions it will make London a more efficient and better place to live.

To request a printed copy of the document, contact the Public Liaison Unit, by calling 020 7983 4100/Minicom: 0207983 4458.

Background to the report

The very way our planet functions is changing because how humans are living. The carbon dioxide emissions we have released into the atmosphere are altering our climate. As a result more people than ever are living in areas vulnerable to flooding, drought, lack of food and more frequent natural disasters.

None will be more affected by these changes than the world’s poorest people, who overwhelmingly live in the areas on earth most exposed to climate change.

London is often described as ‘the world in one city’ because of the incredible diversity of our population and culture. London is also a centre for global finance and business, and as one of the richest cities in the world, typical of the high energy-using life-styles that are causing global warming.

Londoners enjoy a high quality of life compared with most of the world’s population. We don’t have to reduce this to tackle climate change but we do have to change the way we live, cutting out the wasteful use of energy and thinking more carefully about the wider impacts of all our actions.

Environmental Justice

Background to the report

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