Climate Matters: Ethics in a Warming World (Norton Global Ethics Series)

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W. W. Norton & Company, Jul 23, 2012 - Nature - 192 pages

A vital new moral perspective on the climate change debate.

Esteemed philosopher John Broome avoids the familiar ideological stances on climate change policy and examines the issue through an invigorating new lens. As he considers the moral dimensions of climate change, he reasons clearly through what universal standards of goodness and justice require of us, both as citizens and as governments. His conclusions—some as demanding as they are logical—will challenge and enlighten. Eco-conscious readers may be surprised to hear they have a duty to offset all their carbon emissions, while policy makers will grapple with Broome’s analysis of what if anything is owed to future generations. From the science of greenhouse gases to the intricate logic of cap and trade, Broome reveals how the principles that underlie everyday decision making also provide simple and effective ideas for confronting climate change. Climate Matters is an essential contribution to one of the paramount issues of our time.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
Science
16
Economics
37
Justice and Fairness
49
Private Morality
73
Goodness
97
Uncertainty
117
The Future versus the Present
133
Lives
156
Population
169
Summary
187
Notes
193
Acknowledgments
199
Index
201
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About the author (2012)

John Broome is the White's Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He is also the lead author on Working Group III of the UN's International Panel on Climate Change.

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