Najam Discusses Global Climate Justice on CFR Webinar
On September 21, 2022, Adil Najam, Dean Emeritus and Professor of International Relations and Earth and Environment at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, participated in a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) webinar during which he discussed global climate justice and its impact on global affairs.
In his remarks, Najam argues that in what he calls the Age of Adaptation, justice becomes much more of an issue. The world finds itself in a situation where the effects of climate change are being felt by those who have been contributing the least to greenhouse emissions, resulting in an unjust distribution of severe climate impacts. These countries that see the impacts of climate change every day are pressuring their governments to take immediate action. According to Najam, “that pressure then starts pushing domestic politics, and domestic politics start pushing international politics” impacting international relations today and in the future.
After his introductory remarks, Najam took audience questions on the impact of the war in Ukraine on climate adaptation, necessary climate actions, as well as the lacking leadership, political will, and development by nation-state leaders to put forth these actions.
The full webinar can be viewed below. For a full transcript of the webinar, visit CFR’s website.
Adil Najam is a global public policy expert who served as the Inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and was the former Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). His research focuses on issues of global public policy, especially those related to global climate change, South Asia, Muslim countries, environment and development, and human development. Read more about Najam on his faculty profile.