Climate Justice for All: A Call from Harvard’s Heart

The Rising Tide of Climate Injustice

On the evening of April 4, 2025, a room at Harvard filled with the pulse of purpose. The CJ4All Launch Party--Climate Justice for All: Stories, Struggles & Solidarity—was not a typical campus event. It was a moral reckoning. A political awakening. And most of all, a call to organize.
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Born from MLD377: Organizing: People, Power, Change, taught by Professor Marshall Ganz, CJ4All is a student-led campaign demanding that Harvard recognize what frontline communities have long known: climate change is not only an environmental crisis—it is a justice crisis.

The evening unfolded with testimony, analysis, and imagination—stories from Saudi Arabia, Nepal, the Philippines, Nigeria, and India that illuminated the global asymmetries at the core of our planetary emergency.

A Flood in Jeddah, A Mirror to the World

Opening the evening, I shared a personal story. I spoke of Jeddah, my hometown—Our Mermaid of the Red Sea—brought to a standstill by catastrophic flooding. Water rushed through neighborhoods. Sewage filled the air. People stood in destruction. And as I watched, one truth rose from the muddy silence: those who have contributed the least to climate change are paying the highest price for it .

This wasn’t just a Saudi story. It was a global one—echoed in every corner of the Global South. From flooded towns in Mozambique to disappearing shorelines in the Pacific Islands, climate chaos is redrawing the map of injustice.

Professor Daniel Schrag: The Carbon Debt of the Global North

Professor Schrag reminded us that while India accounts for just 3% of global emissions, it already faces unbearable heat. Meanwhile, the United States is responsible for a staggering 25% of global CO₂ emissions—around 500 billion tons. Cleaning up this carbon would cost nearly $200 trillion, nearly double the size of the entire global economy. “It’s an impossible task,” he said. “And a clear case of climate injustice.”

His takeaway was urgent: we cannot engineer our way out of this crisis without moral clarity and historical accountability.

Professor Mathias Risse: The Ethics of Disappearing Nations

Professor Risse’s reflections were equally sobering. With rising seas threatening to erase entire island nations, he posed deeply human questions: Where will the people of Kiribati go? Will they be treated as refugees? Will international law evolve to protect them?

His appeal wasn’t just legal—it was ethical. “We are witnessing the slow-motion displacement of sovereign peoples,” he said. “Justice demands we recognize them not as migrants—but as citizens of a disappearing world.”

Mark Dennis Joven: Bridging the Climate Finance Chasm

Mark Dennis Joven, a prominent figure in international climate finance from the Philippines, addressed the critical shortfall in the Loss and Damage Fund. He highlighted that while approximately $700 million has been pledged to the fund, this amount represents less than 0.2% of the estimated $400 billion in losses that developing countries face annually due to climate change . This stark disparity underscores the vast gap between current financial commitments and the actual needs of vulnerable nations. Joven emphasized the necessity for developed countries to substantially increase their contributions and to explore innovative financing mechanisms to bridge this chasm.

Ritwija Darbari: India’s Delicate Dance Between Growth and Equity

Ritwija Darbari, a policy strategist from India, delved into the nation’s endeavor to balance rapid economic growth with social equity and environmental sustainability. She noted that as India advances its development agenda, it faces the dual challenge of uplifting a vast population while mitigating environmental degradation. Darbari referenced India’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 and the associated strategies, including a significant push towards renewable energy . She stressed that sustainable development in India necessitates policies that are inclusive, ensuring that economic benefits are equitably distributed and that environmental considerations are integral to the growth narrative.

Jiwan Mallik: The False Logic of Efficiency

Representing Nepal, Jiwan Mallik delivered a message grounded in humility and strength. Nepal emits just 0.027% of global emissions, yet it faces glacial melt, devastating floods, and erratic monsoons. His words were simple: “Nepal did not cause the crisis—and it should not be asked to pay for its repair through debt.”

Instead, recovery must be financed through grants, not loans. Mallik pointed out that the average American consumes 40 times more electricity than the average Nepali. He challenged the audience: “Climate justice demands not just policy change, but lifestyle change. Eat local. Avoid the unnecessary. Fix the leak before you pour more into the pot.”

Reimagining Harvard’s Role

CJ4All’s mission is rooted in Harvard’s influence. As future leaders, researchers, and policymakers, we cannot look away from the contradictions embedded even within our own institutions.

We called attention to the Salata Institute’s policy of refusing partnerships with fossil fuel-affiliated entities. While well-intentioned, such blanket bans risk denying Global South countries their right to define their own just transitions—especially when fossil fuels still underpin basic infrastructure like hospitals and schools. Justice, we argued, must come with context and compassion .

Our Call to Action

We issued a three-part demand to Harvard:
1. Teach Justice – Ensure every climate, energy, and development course includes climate justice content grounded in Global South voices.
2. Support Faculty – Co-create rigorous, justice-focused teaching materials and case studies with students and frontline experts.
3. Revise Policy with Equity in Mind – Allow ethical engagement with fossil stakeholders in the Global South when it supports a just and equitable transition .

These are not radical demands. They are overdue commitments.

From Awareness to Action

The evening closed with a celebration of community: a music video on climate justice, a wall where guests left messages of hope and resolve, and conversations over global bites that built bridges across disciplines and cultures.

CJ4All is not just a campaign—it is a conscience. It is a reminder that justice is not an elective—it’s essential.

Final Word

As Dr. King once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
At CJ4All, we believe the reverse is also true:
Justice anywhere is a spark that can light up the world.
​We lit that spark on April 4.
Now, we carry it forward—together.