8. The ethics of climate change

Abstract

Climate change in the form of global warming is a serious ecological problem. ‘The ethics of climate change’ explains that the vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is ‘anthropogenic’. This belief is reflected in reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. There is therefore a strong ethical case for vigorous and concerted action to mitigate climate change, and, given that some climate change is already irreversible, to adapt to its effects. The policies of mitigation, adaptation, and compensation are considered along with the different defensible approaches to these issues, including the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, reducing greenhouse gas (and other) emissions, and climate engineering.