Climate change is genuinely global, dominantly intergenerational, and takes place in a setting where our prescriptive theories are weak. This “perfect moral storm” poses a profound challenge to ...humanity. This book explains the storm, how it makes sense of our current malaise, and why better ethics can help. This book argues that despite decades of awareness, we are currently accelerating hard into the climate problem in a way that defies standard explanations. It claims that this suggests that our current focus on the scientific and economic questions is too narrow, and that the tendency to see the political problem as a traditional tragedy of the commons facing nation states is too optimistic. Instead, the key issue is that the current generation, and especially the most affluent, are in a position to pass on most of the costs of their behavior (and especially the most serious harms) to the global poor, future generations and nonhuman nature. This tyranny of the contemporary is a deeper problem than the traditional tragedy of the commons. Moreover, the book argues that this diagnosis helps to explain both the past failures of international climate policy (e.g., the “shadow solutions” of Kyoto and Copenhagen), and the current push towards geoengineering. Part of the solution, it argues, is better public ethics. We must work harder on articulating both the ethical problem, and moral constraints on solutions. In addition, there is a role for “defensive” moral and political philosophy, aimed at preserving the quality of public discourse.
The feeling of optimism that followed the COP 21 Paris Conference on Climate Change requires concrete action and steadfast commitment to a process that raises a number of crucial challenges: ...technological, political, social, and economic. As climate change worsens, new robust leadership is imperative. This title examines why a close collaboration between the EU and China may result in the necessary impetus to solidify a vision and a roadmap for our common future in the Anthropocene.
While decades of space ventures have led to significant technological advances, space activities have also brought increasing environmental problems. This book examines the current international ...legal regimes in space law and environmental law in order to ascertain their applicability and efficacy in addressing environmental threats in the space sector. The research suggests mechanisms which could improve environmental protection in the sector and strengthen the environmental element in space law. These mechanisms include a variety of norm-setting strategies used in international environmental management. Special attention is drawn to the potential of environmental impact assessment in the space sector and to dispute resolution procedures. Like other areas of human activities, the space sector should accommodate both economic interests and environmental protection in line with the principle of sustainable development.
Environmental issues and questions of global change are now firmly established on the international political agenda. This book provides a wide-ranging survey of the current treatment of ...environmental issues in international relations. This book begins by looking at the relevance of the different theoretical approaches current in international relations to the study of the environment. It analyzses a wide range of approaches from the debate between neo-realism and liberal institutionalism to the significant connections between gender and global environmental change. The book goes on to consider a range of key international processes, discussing the monitoring and implementation of environmental agreements, the place of ideology in negotiations and the role of international organisations.
