Water injustice in a changing climate

This research paper presents a systematic literature review of empirical examples of water injustice and corresponding responses within OECD river basins under the influence of climate change, identifying gaps in current governance and research.

• The literature review indicates that research on water injustice primarily focuses on water scarcity, and that current responses are not sufficient to address the root causes of these injustices. Water injustice is typically operationalized by integrating recognitional, procedural, and distributional dimensions.
• The review identifies four types of distributive water injustices: state and industry priorities, unjust energy transitions, unequal adaptive capacities, and maladaptive outcomes. Procedural injustices include practical barriers to participation and historical exclusion from water governance, with participatory interventions suggested as a remedy.
• Recognitional water injustices are characterized by the misrecognition of local knowledge, root causes of injustice, and Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2026). Water injustice in a changing climate. https://www.sei.org/publications/water-injustice-in-a-changing-climate/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Water injustice in a changing climate. 2026. https://www.sei.org/publications/water-injustice-in-a-changing-climate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Water injustice in a changing climate |date=19 March 2026 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/water-injustice-in-a-changing-climate/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2026water, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Water injustice in a changing climate}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/water-injustice-in-a-changing-climate/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }