"The Poor Are Hit the Hardest"-Norwegians' Perceptions of Climate (In)Justice

The concept of climate justice is frequently discussed in academic literature focusing on the societal impacts of climate change and climate policy. Less attention has been paid to the public's understanding of the concept. In this paper, we investigate whether the public acknowledges a link between climate change and (in)justice, and, if so, what they consider unjust. A representative sample of the Norwegian public (N = 1923) was asked what, if anything, they think can be unjust about climate change, in an open-ended survey question. Categorizing the responses in line with conventional climate justice dimensions, we found that the majority of respondents referred to some type of distributional justice, while few referred to procedural or recognition justice arguments. Analysing the responses in a bottom-up manner, by identifying recurring themes, revealed a frequent emphasis on international distribution, followed by distribution between rich and poor and unjust climate policies. We also identified arguments diffusing Norway's responsibility, typically focusing on Norway being a small country. Our findings give insights into the type of justice arguments likely to be recognized and accepted by the Norwegian public, and how this may vary between social groups.