International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics > Vol 11 > Issue 1

A Survey of Global Climate Justice: From Negotiation Stances to Moral Stakes and Back

Antonin Pottier, Centre d'Économie de la Sorbonne, CNRS — Université Paris 1, France, antonin.pottier@univ-paris1.fr , Aurélie Méjean, Centre international de recherche sur l'environnement et le développement (CIRED), CNRS, France, Olivier Godard, Ecole Polytechnique, Department of Economics, France, Jean-Charles Hourcade, Centre international de recherche sur l'environnement et le développement (CIRED), CNRS, France
 
Suggested Citation
Antonin Pottier, Aurélie Méjean, Olivier Godard and Jean-Charles Hourcade (2017), "A Survey of Global Climate Justice: From Negotiation Stances to Moral Stakes and Back", International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics: Vol. 11: No. 1, pp 1-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/101.00000090

Publication Date: 24 Oct 2017
© 2017 A. Pottier, A. Méjean, O. Godard, and J.-C. Hourcade
 
Subjects
Environmental economics,  Public economics,  International relations,  Public policy,  Climate change
 
Keywords
JEL Codes: A1D6F5H4Q54Q56
Climate changeClimate justiceEquityEmission budgetMitigationHistorical responsibilityBurden sharingCommonsEthicsClimate negotiations
 

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In this article:
1. Introduction 
2. Equity and the Economics of Climate Change 
3. The Climate Regime and Equity Principles 
4. Fair Sharing of the Access to the Atmosphere 
5. Historical Emissions in the Climate Justice Debate 
6. Conclusion 
References 

Abstract

Climate change poses immense problems of intergenerational, intragenerational and international justice. This critical survey describes the intellectual landscape of global climate justice, and clarifies the challenges, positions, arguments and theoretical background of this concept. To do so, we review how equity is mobilised in the climate change economics literature and confront arguments about justice used within or at the periphery of climate negotiations with those of moral and political philosophers. We present the stances of States, NGOs and experts. We discuss the principles of justice underpinning the fair sharing of a carbon budget and their moral justifications. We examine the concepts of climate damage and of responsibility and highlight the hurdles to make way for historical emissions in climate justice. We conclude on some implications of the Paris Agreement for climate justice and the way forward.

DOI:10.1561/101.00000090