In recent years there has been a shift in the debate about climate change. There is now no question that human induced climate change is happening, the debate now centres on how much and how fast the world's climatic patterns will change.

The effect of climate change is global, and equity frameworks such as environmental justice highlight the inequitable consumption of products and production of waste or emissions across the globe.

There are a number of major inequities of climate change impacts: All states and nations are burdened with the effects of anthropogenic impacts on climate, although the ‘developed’, industrial, enriched countries produce far greater emissions per capita. Impoverished states (particularly tropical countries) are less resourced to adapt or respond to climate change and that many island states are at far greater risk of suffering loss of territory due to rising sea levels than other states. Climate change also affects the weather patterns tropical states to a greater degree than other global regions as those regions experience extremes in wet and dry seasons within natural weather cycles. Natural reserves of oil and gas as fuels used on combustion based production of energy exist mostly in tropical, southern countries, and are subject to exploration and exploitation and subsequent over-consumption by the industrial countries. This further exacerbates the inequity of climate change, as oil extraction alone has a high environmental and social impact without considering the consequences of climate change in the downstream consumption of oil.

Still missing from the climate change debate is the human dimension, particularly the impacts of climate change on the planet's poorest people. It examines the human rights perspective of what has been, until now, a debate focused on science, consumption patterns and emission levels. Quite simply, climate justice addresses global warming by looking at who is hurt, how they will be hurt and who is responsible.

Climate change is the most serious environmental threat the world faces today and on a global scale, may well be the biggest environmental justice issue ever. This is because the poor are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) stated that:

"The predicted impacts of climate change would probably exacerbate hunger and poverty around the world...People who are highly dependent on farming, fishing or forestry may well see their livelihoods destroyed...The poor would suffer the most because they have fewer options for responding to climate change."
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