Climate change raises urgent questions of justice. Yet nonhuman animals remain an extremely neglected group within dominant climate justice frameworks, despite being among the most vulnerable to climate-related harms. Habitat loss, extreme weather events, ecosystem disruption, ocean acidification, and biodiversity collapse due to climate change profoundly affect wild and domesticated animals alike.
While philosophical discussions on climate justice have grown substantially over the past decade, they have largely focused on duties owed to present and future human populations. By contrast, comparatively little attention has been given to the moral responsibilities humans bear toward animals in the context of climate change. Few recent studies have started to investigate the ethical implications of mitigation and adaptation policies, but many open questions remain. Moreover, a significant gap concerns duties owed to animals in situations of Loss and Damage (L&D) — particularly where mitigation and adaptation measures prove insufficient to prevent serious and irreversible harm.