ABSTRACT
This chapter engages in a reflexive analysis of the foregoing chapters, bringing together North/South climate politics as well as grounded struggles within one country of the Global South to begin to theorize a multi-scalar analysis of the commons and the complexities of climate mitigation justice. The author argues that the taking back of the forest commons in Nepal should be considered as an example of the kind of counterhegemonic struggle that should be scaled up to strengthen North/South climate justice struggles. As such, it is suggested that struggles are never complete and a constant interplay between neoliberalizing forces and commoning forces is to be expected. The chapter revisits the international negotiation process of climate treaty-making as an important space for the taking back of the atmospheric commons to establish equitable rules for climate mitigation and adaptation, advocating for Elinor Ostrom’s idea of polycentric governance to be an appropriate model. Finally the author presents ideas towards a theorization of the geography of climate justice by weaving together an analysis of structural inequalities in the North/South context and of colonial relations within North and South. An invitation is made to conceptualize the racial and Indigenous aspects of climate justice beyond US-centric conceptions.
