Abstract
This paper develops principles for responding to climate change from the perspective of John Rawls’ writings on justice. Rawls (1971) argues that principles of justice, in particular those for assigning basic rights and duties of social cooperation, should be selected from an “original position” as though by (imaginary) agents who do not know their position in society. This paper adapts Rawls’ notion of original position and applies it to the international context required to address climate change. From this perspective it is argued the agents would endorse the current consensus not to allow global warming to exceed 2 °C. They would also find that rich industrial countries, having contributed disproportionately to the causes of climate change, should reduce their emissions faster than developing countries and they should help developing countries to adopt non-carbon energy sources, to adapt to climate change, and to recover from its harms. The paper proposes new institutions needed to carry out these obligations efficiently and effectively.
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Notes
“Liberal peoples have three basic features: a reasonably just constitutional democratic government that serves their fundamental interests; citizens united by what Mill called ‘common sympathies;’ and, finally, a moral nature” (Rawls 1999, p. 23).
Note that petroleum corporations and other firms do not come into the discussion. They are subject to government regulation; if they undermine or oppose movement toward a just solution, as may be in their financial interest, this would raise other kinds of questions of justice.
Allocation of resources on this principle generates an incentive for governments to “play dead,” that is, to present themselves as less capable and their populations as more needy than they actually are, so this incentive would have to be taken into account.
Loosely along the lines of the International Accounting Standards Board, responsible for developing International Financial Reporting Standards and promoting the use and application of these standards. While existing accounting authorities have proven less than completely reliable, the institutional challenges in building a reliable authority are less than those in securing effective accountability from populations of victims.
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Clements, P. Rawlsian Ethics of Climate Change. Crit Crim 23, 461–471 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-015-9293-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-015-9293-4