Physical Address
Kampala, Uganda
According to Joyeeta Gupta, climate change has been on the global political agenda for over 30 years, and during this period of time, there has been a rapid expansion of multilateral environmental frameworks on the subject, the most recent being the African Leaders Nairobi Declaration on Climate Change and Call to Action – the Nairobi Declaration, coupled with the ascent of the sustainability agenda.
While there has been enhanced focus on climate change and sustainability by both public and private sector players, Kishan Khoday argues that the planetary crisis continues to accelerate. Evidence of this may be found in the Nairobi Declaration, which at Paragraph 6, notes that the world is not on track to keeping within the reach of the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit agreed to under the auspices of the Paris Agreement.
The global sustainability agenda remains highly contested. For example, this has been evident in the opposition to the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project by various international actors – including the European Parliament – as being one that will plunge the world into a further climate crisis. Conversely, the proponents of the project have argued that climate change adaptation strategies must be balanced with the development needs of Africa within the context of a just transition that is fair and inclusive to all, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.
It may be argued that the contestations surrounding the EACOP project and the climate change agenda, broadly, have been largely euro-centric and a continuation of the north-south dichotomy in the approach to global legal regimes and issues, which is often rooted in the subordination of the south to the north.
Over the next series of articles, we will explore the concept of third-world approaches to the climate change and sustainability agenda, modeled on the theory of the Third World Approaches to International Law – TWAIL. In the series, we will examine whether the multilateral environmental frameworks reflect the unique position of the global south on the climate change agenda, whether the needs of the global south are being met, and whether there are patterns of inequity and injustice in the agenda.
This article lays the foundation of the concept of third-world approaches to climate change & sustainability – TWACCS, with a review of the definition of TWAIL, and then proposes a view of what TWACCS is.
Defining TWAIL
Makau W. Mutua argues that TWAIL seeks to understand, deconstruct, and unpack the use of the international legal regime as a medium for the creation and perpetuation of a radicalized hierarchy of international norms and institutions that subordinate the third world to the West. TWAIL thus advocates for full representation of all voices in global discourse and agenda setting, especially voices of the third world, and is rooted in the elimination of third-world powerlessness.
TWAIL is essentially a reflection of the legacy of colonialism and subjugation of the rest of the world by the West, whose legacy now informs the current world order as we know it. It is this legacy that continues to be perpetuated in the discourse on global issues, such as climate change.
Using the TWAIL approach to climate change and sustainability, as Khoday argues, is therefore a way of understanding the historical foundation of the climate crisis and apportioning proper accountability for the same.
Third World Approaches to Climate Change and Sustainability – TWACCS
With that background, TWACCS argues that the climate change and sustainability agenda should commence with a recognition of the historic role of the West in the climate crisis. The crisis, as Khoday argues, is rooted in the legacy of colonialism, during which period the industrial complexes of the West emerged, on the back of the exploitation of the natural resource wealth of the third world. Further, the recognition of the role of the West must be accompanied by an acceptance and willingness of the West to be accountable for the crisis.
Indeed, the Nairobi Declaration affirms this position and notes in Paragraph 8 that Africa is not historically responsible for global warming but bears the brunt of its effects, impacting lives, livelihoods, and economies.
Accordingly, it would follow that a TWACCS approach to the multilateral frameworks on climate change and sustainability must reflect this reality. However, because of the legacy of colonialism that informs the international legal regime, a euro-centric approach to climate change – that ignores this important context, may have found its way into this discourse. It is for this reason perhaps that the proponents of projects such as EACOP argue for the third world’s right to exploit its natural resources in order to meet their development needs, being mindful of the climate crisis, but also taking full agency and responsibility for their future without the historic control & direction of the West.
The West’s opposition to natural resource exploitation under the pretext of climate change adaptation may thus be construed as an extension of the euro-centric hegemony, whose solution may lie in reconstructing the international frameworks that govern climate change.
Conclusion
This international world order is euro-centric in nature and this Eurocentrism has influenced the approach to various global issues – including climate change and sustainability. Drawing inspiration from TWAIL, TWACCS proposes to revisit & challenge this construct and will unpack the multilateral environmental frameworks to assess whether they reflect the unique position, history, and needs of the third world in the climate change agenda.
Disclaimer: “The views and opinions expressed on the site are personal and do not represent the official position of Stanbic Uganda and Khulani Capital.”
