Ethics and global climate change / editors, Peter A. French, Arizona State University, Howard K. Wettstein, University of California, Riverside.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Wettstein, Howard K., editor.

French, Peter A., editor.

Series:

Midwest studies in philosophy ; 40.

Midwest studies in philosophy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Climatic changes--Moral and ethical aspects.

Climatic changes.

Environmental ethics.

Physical Description:

314 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Boston, MA : Wiley Periodicals, Inc., [2016]

Summary:

The planet is undergoing a global change in climate that has begun to negatively affect populations and is predicted to accelerate in the coming decades. The human beings now on Earth are the first to exist when the climatic dynamics of the planet are scientifically understood. That understanding makes patently clear that the aggregate effects of human activities have a distinct impact on planetary climate and the way humans will live, if they survive, in the future. This appears to be a tipping point time in human history when future climatic catastrophes that threaten generations of humans might be preventable if governments, institutions, and organizations now take mitigating actions. That suggests that the people currently alive on the planet bear a collective responsibility to address the negative human impact on climate. In recent years global climate change is a major focus of research among scientists, economists, and political and legal theorists. It is also a blisteringly hot discussion topic among politicians, leaders of governments, and social media commentators and bloggers. There are hundreds of thousands of sites on the Internet that raise issues, either directly or indirectly, focused on climate change or that flatly deny the overwhelming weight of the scientific evidence of its existence or that the activities of humans worldwide are a major contributing factor. Political parties in the United States (and in other countries) have adopted policy and platform positions ranging from denial of human-caused climate change, while championing existing fossil fuel industries, to dire predictions of the end of civilization unless radical changes in governmental policies and human activities are taken. The challenge of mitigating global climate change is often seen as potentially met through various kinds of scientific research, engineering (including genetic engineering), technological innovation, political action, or enforceable international treaties. However, at the heart of the challenge are very significant ethical matters. Ethical concerns arise in what is called "climate justice." They may involve burden-sharing issues and also raise questions about what constitutes justifiable actions taken against populations that do not act in ways to limit preventable negative impacts on climate. What, for example, are the responsibilities of peoples (and their governments) when others do not comply with internationally agreed-upon standards necessary to control greenhouse gas emissions? What sort of policies ought to be adopted by institutions and governments to successfully implement desired outcomes? Are there economic models that should be preferred when it comes to the intergenerational burdens of climate change? How should we design the environments in which we live and that future generations will inherit from us? The latter is not merely a political problem, but involves architectural and other personal preferences, urban development, institutional design, and a myriad of other elements that create the spaces in which humans exist. Should not such social design problems be integrated with concerns about climate impacts? They appear not to be have been in the past. For example, we now, as have people in developed countries for the last century, tend to favor certain types of personal transportation. Should the environment for the future be designed to allow the population's use of those preferred vehicles or should it be designed to make them impractical? In general, should there be normative constraints on personal preferences in order to mitigate climate change? How should the responsibilities for current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere be assessed? Do we as individuals have a responsibility to reduce our carbon footprints? Do we have moral obligations to nonhumans not to radically alter the climate in which they can exist? What rights do we have regarding various elements of the environment, such as water, that are at risk because of climate change? Do corporations that have been major contributors to negative changes in the global climate have special responsibilities to find solutions that alleviate the economic, social, and environmental harm they have inflicted on current and future generations even if markets fail to provide such solutions? These and many more ethical issues are addressed in this volume by some of the world's leading ethical, social, economic, and legal theorists who are focusing their research and writing on the underlying ethical concerns raised by alarming changes in the global climate. Book jacket.

Contents:

The Struggle for Climate Justice in a Non-Ideal World / Simon Caney Caney, Simon 9

Climate Justice Beyond International Burden Sharing / Steve Vanderheiden Vanderheiden, Steve 27

Equalizing the Intergenerational Burdens of Climate Change - An Alternative to Discounted Utilitarianism / Darrel Moellendorf Moellendorf, Darrel, Axel Schaffer Schaffer, Axel 43

High Stakes: Inertia or Transformation? / Henry Shue Shue, Henry 63

Climate Policy when Preference Are Endogenous: And Sometimes They Are / Linus Mattauch Mattauch, Linus, Cameron Hepburn Hepburn, Cameron 76

Two Theories of Responsibility for Past Emissions of Carbon Dioxide / Michelle Hayner Hayner, Michelle, David Weisbach Weisbach, David 96

On Climate Matters: Offsetting, Population, and Justice / Elizabeth Cripps Cripps, Elizabeth 114

Climate Matters Pro Tanto, Does It Matter Alb Things-Considered? / Holly Lawford-Smith Lawford-Smith, Holly 129

Climate Matters for Future People / Paul Bou-Habib Bou-Habib, Paul 143

A Reply To My Critics / John Broome Broome, John 158

No Justice in Climate Policy? Broome versus Posner, Weisbach, and Gardiner / Alyssa R. Bernstein Bernstein, Alyssa R. 172

Anthropocentrism in Climate Ethics and Policy / Katie McShane McShane, Katie 189

Should We Tolerate Climate Change Denial? / Catriona McKinnon McKinnon, Catriona 205

A Global Right of Water / Tim Hayward Hayward, Tim 217

Saving Species but Losing Wildness: Should We Genetically Adapt Wild Animal Species to Help Them Respond to Climate Change? / Clare Palmer Palmer, Clare 234

Corporate Responsibility, Democracy, and Climate Change / Denis G. Arnold Arnold, Denis G. 252

The Ethics of Dieselgate / Luc Bovens Bovens, Luc 262

From the Anrhropocene to the Ecozoic: Philosophy and Global Climate Change / Brian G. Henning Henning, Brian G. 284

Flourishing in the Age of Climate Change: Finding the Heart of Sustainability / William Throop Throop, William 296.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781119341321

1119341329

OCLC:

954271014