Sustainable development and environmental justice.

Ten years ago, the world saw that finance had permeated every aspect of the global economy. Back then, it was clear that financial interests could not build a better and different world. Ten years later, the COP24 has legitimised a vision of sustainability and climate change mitigation and adaptation where sustainability rhymes with profitability. Financial actors are increasingly finding large returns by investing in the transition to "greener" infrastructure, including the not-so-green Chinese green belt and road and dams like the Belo Monte, a project that originally applied for carbon credits and was labelled as a sustainable investment. Similarly, they can make money out of interests paid by cities that try to reduce their environmental impact, adapt to climate change and implement more sustainable solutions. Green bonds represent one of the main tools used to channel resources from finance into the green transition, but they have not been sufficiently discussed or understood from the point of view of law and socio-ecological justice. If money is the driver, we should not expect private investors to have any interest in projects that won't generate a sufficient return, to support people or cities that cannot pay for the service or for the debt, or to protect poor and vulnerable people from climate change. The project critically engages with green bonds and with the assumption that climate change should be fought according to the rules of Wall Street, i.e. that people and the planet should be supported only on the basis of whether money can be generated or not.

Keywords:ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Disciplines:Environmental law, Development studies