CAPPE Papers
Ethical issues in international climate negotiations: a preliminary analysis of parties’ positions
Jonathan Pickering, Steve Vanderheiden and Seumas Miller
This paper sets out a straightforward and morally defensible framework for analysing ethical issues in climate policy and applies it to analyse recent submissions by a range of parties to the current United Nations climate negotiations (including Australia, Brazil, China, the European Union, India, Russia and the United States, as well as several developing country negotiating groups). The analysis focuses in particular on issues of how to share the burdens and resources associated with climate change mitigation and adaptation between wealthy and poor countries. We highlight areas of convergence and divergence between developed and developing countries, as well as some ethical principles that have been largely overlooked in the negotiations to date. We identify policy recommendations on several issues that we consider could provide the basis for an ethically sound and politically feasible consensus.
Please note that this is a draft paper – the authors would welcome any comments or feedback.