240 Pages
    by Routledge

    240 Pages
    by Routledge

    The link between justice and climate change is becoming increasingly prominent in public debates on climate policy. This clear and concise philosophical introduction to climate justice addresses the hot topic of climate change as a moral challenge.

    Using engaging everyday examples the authors address the core arguments by providing a comprehensive and balanced overview of this heated debate, enabling students and practitioners to think critically about the subject area and to promote discussion on questions such as:

    • Why do anything in the face of climate change?
    • How much do we owe our descendants – a better world, or nothing at all?
    • How should we distribute the burden of climate action between industrialized and developing countries?
    • Should I adopt a green lifestyle even if no one else makes an effort?
    • Which means of reducing emissions are permissible?
    • Should we put hope in technological solutions?
    • Should we re-design democratic institutions for more effective climate policy?

    With chapter summaries, illustrative examples and suggestions for further reading, this book is an ideal introduction for students in political philosophy, applied ethics and environmental ethics, as well as for practitioners working on one of the most urgent issues of our time.

    Preface

    1 Climate Change as an Ethical Challenge

    Part I Do We Need To Do Anything at All? Moral Justification of the Need to Act

    2 Three Reasons for Skepticism About the Duty to Mitigate Climate Change

    3 Fundamental Doubts about Our Responsibility for the Future

    4 Mitigation, Adaptation, or Climate Engineering—Do Many Roads Lead to the Desired Goal?

    Part II How Much Do We Need to Do? Intergenerational Justice

    5 Equality for Our Descendants

    6 More for Our Descendants

    7 Enough for Our Descendants

    8 Uncertainty and the Precautionary Principle

    9 Inequality and an Interim Conclusion

    Part III How Should We Assign Responsibility? Global Justice

    10 The Greatest Redistribution in Human History

    11 Grandfathering: To Those Who Have, More Shall Be Given

    12 The Polluter Pays Principle: Taking Responsibility for One’s Actions

    13 The Beneficiary Pays Principle: Those Who Benefit Must Pay

    14 The Ability-to-Pay Principle: To Each According to Her Means

    15 Emissions Egalitarianism: Dividing up the Cake Equally

    16 A Far-Reaching Proposal

    Part IV From Ethical Theory to Political Practice

    17 Non-ideal Theory: What to Do When Others Fail to Comply?

    18 Population, Technology, Affluence: Three Strategies for Reducing Emissions

    19 The Market for Emissions: A Modern Sale of Indulgences?

    20 Procedural Justice: Democracy in Times of Climate Change

    21 Looking Back and Checking Up With Reality

    Glossary

    Index

    Biography

    Dominic Roser is a Research Fellow at the Oxford Martin Programme on Human Rights for Future Generations at the University of Oxford, UK.

    Christian Seidel is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.

    "This book does an admirable job of guiding us through the maze of moral issues surrounding climate change. Its lucid style and use of examples from everyday life pin down the really important questions, and map out the philosophical territory to date around them. This is a perfect introduction to the complexities of climate change as the biggest moral challenge humanity has ever faced."
    Catriona McKinnon, University of Reading, UK

     

    ‘Core principles are laid out comprehensively, with their different interpretations clarified. The book is also very user-friendly, containing excellent visual illustrations, chapter summaries, a glossary at the back, and lists of suggestive reading which are selective and therefore not overwhelming.’ -

    Megan Blomfield, Environmental Values, The White Horse Press, 2017

     

    ‘Roser and Seidel assert that humans "have a moral duty to protect the climate" in their short, well-written book, Climate Justice.’

    "How much should we do?" and "How should these duties be distributed?" These are the questions Roser and Seidel answer in Climate Justice with the aid of 17 augment boxes carefully placed throughout the book.

    ‘Climate Justice offers solid ways of turning moral convictions into political solutions.’

    Sanganyado, Edmond. Book review, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, 2018. Volume 14, Issue 2, pp. 304-309.