A Trend Towards Climate Reparations?: Contemporary Perspectives on Global Climate Justice by the European Commission vs Political Actors of the Global South

Abstract: This thesis aims to answer the following questions: How does the EU Commission approach the issue of climate justice, more specifically climate reparations? What discursive patterns and inconsistencies are present in the EU Commission’s stance on climate justice? What are the relationships between the EU Commission and actors representing the Global South on the topic of climate reparations? How does the EU work with climate financing today on an international level? Finally, what demands are coming from the Global South? In order to respond to these questions, critical discourse analysis is used to analyze three documents. This analysis is combined with postcolonial interpretations, specifically postcolonial Europe and decoloniality. As a result, the climate justice discourse prevailing in the EU Commission is outlined, showing that there is a strong focus on EU ambitions and leadership. Simultaneously, the discourse excludes historical factors and focuses merely on the present-day aspects of the climate crisis. This approach is reflected in the framework for climate financing, which is not synonymous with climate reparations. Meanwhile, a dialogue between the EU Commission and vulnerable countries in the Global South is taking shape as the Commission is beginning to listen to demands for easy access to climate funding for the most exposed countries.