Global Climate Change—Who Ought to Pay the Bill?

Julian Richard Massenberg
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Julian Richard Massenberg: Department of Economics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-14

Abstract: Global climate change is a significant challenge for current and, particularly, future generations. In the public debate about the fair allocation of associated costs commonly the moral claim that the developed countries should burden the costs is expressed. To support this claim, often four moral arguments, based on the theory of justice, are raised: (i) the polluter pays, (ii) the historical responsibility, (iii) the beneficiary pays, and (iv) the ability to pay. The aim of the paper is to assess whether these principles impose a duty on the developed countries and whether a fair allocation of costs would be achieved.

Keywords: climate change; theory of justice; responsibility; normative principles; theory of goodness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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