Climate change negotiations and transitional justice: the advent of a Carbon Truth and Reconciliation Commission?

Abstract

Developing states, such as India and China, are reluctant to depart from their hard-lined  stance  on  the  common  but  differentiated  responsibilities  and respective  capabilities  principle.  They  want  to  ensure  that  the  historical responsibility of the developed world is addressed. The developed world is, however, reluctant to acknowledge its historical responsibility. At the core of  this  deadlock  seems  to  be  a  lack  of  trust  between  parties. The  current atmosphere of distrust amongst parties in the climate change negotiations may  provide  fertile  ground  for  the  application  of  transitional justice  (TJ) mechanisms. TJ is well suited for a divisive environment, which is burdened with historical events that hamper further progress. This article investigates whether  TJ  models  may  be  conducive  to  further  progress  in  the  climate change negotiations. Hence, the discussion focuses on a brief introduction of the notion of TJ; whereafter Truth Commissions are discussed in greater detail.  The  feasibility  of  an  International  Truth  Commission  concerning historical  greenhouse  gas  emissions  then  receives  attention.  The  authors conclude  that  the  transposition  of  the  Truth  Commission  model  to  the current casus will be problematic   and   that   it   is  probable   that   the establishment of an ‘International Carbon Truth Commission’  will merely undermine climate change negotiations. However, the authors suggest that TJ offers lessons for climate change negotiators and that it is necessary to pursue elements of TJ through current climate change negotiations.

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ORCID for Werner Scholtz: orcid.org/0000-0003-0959-0054

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