Climate reparations beyond aid: legal strategies for the structural reforms of global financial architecture

Current climate reparations discussions largely center on financial transfers aimed at assisting countries in the Global South to address climate mitigation and adaptation needs. However, these transfers operate within the existing global economic framework, leaving its foundational structures unchallenged and the deeper roots of climate injustices intact. Regardless of the sums allocated, such payments fail to bring about the structural changes needed to address the core-periphery dynamics reflected in the asymmetric financing conditions of nations. This focus represents a shift away from pursuing transformative initiatives, such as the New International Economic Order, which sought to support state-led developmentalism in post-colonial countries, toward a reliance on cash transfers. In my presentation, I argue for a shift toward structural reparations that address both the crushing debt burdens and climate vulnerabilities facing Global South countries by reforming international law and its governing institutions.