Climate justice: the contribution of higher education institutions

Leal Filho, Walter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1241-5225, Kim, Eundeok ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0042-3391, Palau-Salvador, Guillermo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0492-6567, Aránguiz-Mesías, Pablo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5247-9007, Oyedeji, Shola ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3202-3752, Molera, Lourdes ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2463-4588, Semitiel-García, María ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7571-6666, Ruiz-de-Maya, Salvador ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7487-8308, Moradi, Amir ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1169-7192 and Trevisan, Lais Viera ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3673-6573 (2025) Climate justice: the contribution of higher education institutions. Discover Sustainability, 6 (1). 278. ISSN 2662-9984

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Abstract

The concept of climate justice extends traditional environmentalism by emphasizing the social dimensions of environmental issues. Recently, it has gained much attention due to the growing impacts of climate change, especially on vulnerable communities that contribute minimally to global emissions. Based on the need for research in this field, this paper reports on a study that examined how higher education institutions (HEIs) are integrating climate justice into education, based on a literature review and a set of case studies. These cases highlight actions undertaken by various HEIs to incorporate climate justice into education across the globe. Based on the increasing number of publications, the findings show a growing research interest in the topic and reveal that some countries such as the US, the UK, China, Australia, and Germany have a visible presence in the literature. It also provides a wide range of perspectives on educational practices in climate justice, including real-world examples of courses implemented in HEIs. The findings reveal that HEIs have significant potential to address climate justice in their educational programs, which may help to transform students’ values and actions despite challenges.