The Just-CARE project mobilizes knowledge, resources, and communities to promote climate action, justice, and responsible technology governance in support of the agency, rights, self-determination, and wellbeing of the Global Majority.
Climate change is already resulting in extreme weather and climate globally, "with vulnerable communities who have historically contributed the least to climate change, disproportionately affected." Global Majority communities are simultaneously experiencing climate injustice, environmental racism, and deepening digital divides and are often systematically excluded from climate and digital governance fora and policymaking.
The catastrophic impacts of climate change compel us to transform our systems and ways of (out)living, (dis)connecting, (re)thinking, (net)working, (un)learning, and (co)moving. We are concurrently seeing the rapid development of advanced technologies, including the marketing of green and clean technologies as solutions to the climate crises. A deeper understanding of the climate, environmental, and social impacts of digital technologies, systems, and infrastructure is essential for the realization of meaningful and effective climate and technology governance mechanisms and policies. The urgency of this issue is amplified when we consider the ways climate injustice and racism intersect with digital divides; systematically marginalized communities who are most profoundly and directly impacted by converging crises are simultaneously excluded from decision-making spaces.
The Just-CARE project aims to promote the agency, rights, self-determination, and wellbeing of Global Majority communities, especially systematically marginalized groups who are often disproportionately impacted by climate change, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss, while also working on the frontlines of climate action, environmental stewardship, and safeguarding of biodiversity with limited institutional support.
Activities
A1. Just-CARE 2 RELATE: Mapping the climate justice and tech space and/or implicated systems.
A2. Just-CARE 2 ENGAGE: Engaging systematically marginalized communities in co-designing and implementing research, policy and programming to realize just climate futures
A3. Just-CARE 2 KNOW: Recovering and generating knowledge through mixed-methods of research, including community-participatory action research, strategic foresight, and trend analysis, to develop a robust and more nuanced understanding of the impacts of digital technologies on climate change and action
A4. Just-CARE 2 MOBILIZE: Identifying and mobilizing resources to support climate justice and tech work, with an emphasis on centring the Global Majority through an intersectional, decolonial approach
A5. Just-CARE 2 IMPACT: Translating the insights generated through a state-of-the-art literature review, community-engaged and led research, and strategic foresight to actionable recommendations to influence both climate and digital policy and governance to realize climate justice locally and globally
Deliverables
D1. Design and facilitation of strategic foresight workshops
D2. Co-design, development, and facilitation of UNU Climate Network strategic vision and plan
D3. Co-create and convene a Just-CARE Community of Practice
D4. Develop partnerships to mobilize resources and advance research on climate justice and technology
D5. Co-construct and steward the Just-CARE UNU-EGOV Repository
