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Description
Justifiably so, climate change has been deemed the most exigent of problems facing the global community in the 21st century. There is little, if any, doubt that significant greenhouse gas emissions cutbacks need to be made and need to be made with haste if serious climate catastrophes are to be avoided. However, while it is agreed upon that action must be taken, there is little consensus about what that action should look like due to the many political, social, and normative complexities surrounding the phenomenon of global climate change. These normative difficulties make climate change an unfortunately perfect medium through which an application of philosophy and political theory to the real world is apt. After a basic overview of today's climate science, this thesis will address some of the normative complexities plaguing the solution to the climate problem before eventually presenting a comprehensive proposal that is sensitive to both the authentic challenges of international politics and the conceptual ideals trumpeted in the ivory towers of academia. The climate treaty proposal is comprised of two components, one directed towards emissions mitigation, which will reduce the impact of climate change, and the other towards adaptation, which will aid future victims of climate related harms. With respect to the former, the proposition is simple: No one person has any more of a right to emit greenhouse gases than any other person. This being the case, the fairest distribution of the atmospheric sink is one that respects the equality of all people and allots each person with an equal amount of allowable (luxury) emissions. With respect to adaptation, a similarly simple proposal of strict liability is endorsed: Those who have caused the need for adaptation will be held not at fault but morally responsible for the costs. In the end, we are left with a proposal capable of avoiding latent climate catastrophes and providing climate victims with the remediation they need, all while respecting both equality and responsibility.
