Intergenerational Justice and Climate Debt

Sor Juana wrote with urgency about truth's timelessness and knowledge's power across generations. Climate justice demands recognizing our intergenerational debts: those who industrialized on fossil fuels created climate chaos now inherited by youth and unborn generations who contributed nothing to the problem. Global South nations that emit minimal carbon suffer most severe climate impacts—a profound injustice. Climate debt names this moral reality: wealthy, high-emitting nations owe reparations to affected communities and must bear the cost of climate stabilization. This isn't charity but justice. Sor Juana's intellectual tradition emphasizes accountability and the pursuit of truth; naming climate debt requires honest accounting of historical responsibility. Just climate action means wealthy nations drastically reducing emissions, funding climate adaptation in vulnerable regions, transferring clean energy technology, and recognizing debt to indigenous communities whose lands sequester carbon while being destroyed for Western consumption. Young climate activists invoking intergenerational justice—demanding their elders stop stealing their future—echo Sor Juana's insistence that truth cannot be deferred or evaded. Justice requires accounting for what we owe those who will inherit our choices.