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

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.

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.

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.