Global South

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Global South "functions as more than a metaphor for underdevelopment. It references an entire history of colonialism, neo-imperialism, and differential economic and social change through which large inequalities in living standard, life expectancy, and access to resources are maintained." -Dados and Connell (2012) [1] .

Understanding Why Global South Justice is Climate Justice

The Global North disproportionately caused the climate crisis, yet, the Global South will bear the greatest burden

  • The poorest 50% of the world's population emits only 7% of the total greenhouse gases (Migration to Asia Peace, 2022). [2]
  • According to a report by Oxfam, privileged lifestyles in the Global North produce a carbon footprint that is one hundred times larger than the Global South (Riaz, A., 2021). [3]
  • The unequal distribution of the costs of climate change adds to the worsening of the wealth gap between the Global North and South. The high price of mitigation and adaptation loans further disadvantages the Global South, which is most affected by the climate crisis. They are accumulating climate debt for a crisis they didn't cause (Rice, J., 2009). [4]
  • For justice, the Global North should pay for mitigation and adaption in the Global South.

Wealthy nations caused and perpetuate the climate crisis by exploiting the resources, lands and labor of the Global South

  • (Neo)colonialism resulted in unequal land distribution, present-day land conflicts, and extractivism in the Global South (Estermann, J., 2014). [5]
  • The dominance of the extractive sector by the countries of the Global North resulted in the dependency and 'underdevelopment' of the Global South (Estermann, J., 2014). [6]
  • Countries in the Global South export raw materials, energy, land, and labor worth $10 trillion annually to account for the debt caused by the Global North (Migration to Asia Peace, 2022) [7]
  • For justice, equal per capita entitlement to the planet's resources consistent with ecological boundaries is necessary (Gonzalez, C.,2015). [8]


A special thanks to Bryan Giroux for their tremendous support compiling content for this page.


If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.


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  1. ↑ Dados, Nour and Raewyn Connell. 2012. “The Global South.” Context 11(1): 12-13.
  2. ↑ Migration to Asia Peace. (2022, September 23). 2022 Statement for Climate Justice by the Global South. https://mapcast.org/2022-statement-for-climate-justice-by-the-global-south/?ckattempt=2
  3. ↑ Riaz, A. (2021, September 29). Views from the Global South: How to decolonise the climate crisis. Euronews Green. https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/09/29/views-from-the-global-south-how-to-decolonise-the-climate-crisis
  4. ↑ Rice, J. (2009). North-south relations and the ecological debt: Asserting a counter-hegemonic discourse. Critical Sociology, 35(2), 225–252.
  5. ↑ Estermann, J. (2014). Colonialidad, descolonización e interculturalidad. Polis Revista Latinoamericana, 38. http://journals.openedition.org/polis/10164
  6. ↑ Estermann, J. (2014). Colonialidad, descolonización e interculturalidad. Polis Revista Latinoamericana, 38. http://journals.openedition.org/polis/10164
  7. ↑ Migration to Asia Peace. (2022, September 23). 2022 Statement for Climate Justice by the Global South. https://mapcast.org/2022-statement-for-climate-justice-by-the-global-south/?ckattempt=2
  8. ↑ Gonzalez, C. (2015). Environmental Justice, Human Rights, and the Global South. SANTA CLARA J. INT’L L. 13, pp. 151–195. https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1631&context=faculty
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