Creating a global climate justice fund is one of the key recommendations a McMaster expert will present at an upcoming event during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil.
Bonny Ibhawoh, McMaster’s vice-provost, International, will outline policy proposals from a climate justice study conducted with the support of researchers at the McMaster Centre for Human Rights and Restorative Justice.
As chair of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development, Ibhawoh notes that the impacts of climate change are unevenly distributed. The study’s action items provide a framework to ensure marginalized communities are protected and prioritized as the world transitions away from a fossil fuel-based economy, he says.
“We are taking research out of the purely academic, theoretical realm into something more practical,” says Ibhawoh, a professor of legal history and global human rights.
“We’re saying, ‘Here’s the blueprint.’ We’re showing where these approaches have already worked. My UN mandate is not just to prescribe, but show good practices.”
Three of the key recommendations of the study, which has been adopted by the UN Human Rights Council, include a global climate justice fund, an independent climate ombudsman and new legislation for improved accountability.
“Most important is dialogue and the participation of all parties,” says Ibhawoh.
“That is really at the heart of the ‘right to development’ agenda. There is no climate justice if we don’t take into consideration the will and the interests of those who are likely to be most affected by these policies.”
The global climate justice fund would be a resource to support people whose livelihoods are disrupted by the transition to renewable energy. Such funds can be established at the municipal, provincial, or national level, Ibhawoh notes.
He points to Scotland’s existing climate justice fund, which supports communities in Malawi and Rwanda, as a successful model.
However, the proposed fund should also support communities in the Global North, he emphasizes.
“We want to move away from fossil fuels, but there are people in Alberta who will lose their jobs. What about them?” he says.
“It’s all well and good to keep the oil sands in the ground but that means a generation of people who’ve trained in that industry could lose their livelihoods.”
The key recommendations apply to nations, international organizations, and the private sector:
- Establish nationally defined climate justice floors, ensuring access to adaptation, clean energy, and resilience-building.
- Shift from fragmented, market-driven approaches to rights-based universal frameworks.
- Create a global climate justice fund to support vulnerable countries.
- Expand climate finance beyond pledges and prioritize grants over loans.
- Enhance debt relief and fair global tax practices to fund adaptation.
- Apply climate policies through a non-discrimination lens, dismantling systemic inequalities.
- Promote redistribution through fair carbon pricing, just transition policies, and equitable resource management.
- Align climate policies with the Decent Work Agenda, ensuring workers in fossil-fuel sectors are supported.
- Invest in green jobs, youth training, and inclusive economic growth.
- Strengthen coordination and accountability
- Develop participatory governance frameworks involving states, civil society, and affected communities.
The 2025 study is the result of work done by many McMaster University students and researchers, Ibhawoh says.
“The reason why the UN appointed me is because I have shown that I have this network of students, researchers and scholars who support me in this mandate,” says Ibhawoh. “It’s a collective effort.”