The new social contract

The policy brief contends that existing social contracts are broken due to rising inequality and distrust in institutions, which undermines climate resilience. It proposes building an intersectional alliance of climate and inequality champions to redefine a social contract that integrates climate justice, decent work, and human rights to facilitate a fair green transition. The document highlights various global examples of this shift, including citizen assemblies in France and legal challenges in South Africa.

• Rising global inequality and a decline in trust toward governments and institutions are hindering the transition to a sustainable and climate-resilient economic system.
• A 'just transition' requires deep social support and the recognition that a social contract must encompass the relationship between humans and nature to stop environmental destruction and climate change.
• There is an increasing global trend of citizens holding governments accountable for climate action, evidenced by the number of climate-related legal cases more than doubling since 2015.
• The Green Economy Coalition aims to build an intersectional movement to highlight mechanisms for renegotiating a social contract that incorporates racial, gender, and intergenerational justice, as well as Indigenous rights.

APA

Mohamed, N. (n.d.). The new social contract. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GM2021/Social-Contract_GEC_Najma-Mohamed_Final.pdf

Chicago

Mohamed, Najma. The new social contract. Green Economy Coalition, n.d. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GM2021/Social-Contract_GEC_Najma-Mohamed_Final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mohamed |first1=Najma |title=The new social contract |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GM2021/Social-Contract_GEC_Najma-Mohamed_Final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mohamedndnew, author = {Mohamed, Najma}, title = {{The new social contract}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GM2021/Social-Contract_GEC_Najma-Mohamed_Final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }