Accountability for Historical Emissions and Reparations

Sor Juana lived under colonial Spain's unjust appropriation of indigenous wealth and labor; she understood how present injustice flows from historical wrongs. Climate justice similarly demands accountability: wealthy industrialized nations built their wealth on fossil fuels and are responsible for 79% of cumulative emissions, yet Global South nations suffer disproportionate climate impacts. This is not accidental but structural; historical colonialism created extractive relationships that persist climatically. Justice requires wealthy nations acknowledge this responsibility, not merely pledge future emissions cuts. Reparations are not charity but restitution for damages caused: funding climate adaptation in vulnerable nations, technology transfer for clean energy, loss-and-damage compensation for irreversible harms. Sor Juana's exposure of injustice required naming its source; climate justice similarly requires naming historical and ongoing responsibility. Accountability frameworks transform climate policy from voluntary corporate pledges into justice obligations grounded in who caused harm and who must repair it.