Reframing Climate Change- A Response to Peter Singer
Major
Political Science
Second Major
Art, BA
Submission Type
Oral Presentation
Area of Study or Work
International Studies, Political Science
Faculty Advisor
James Simeone
Expected Graduation Date
2025
Location
CNS E103
Start Date
4-13-2024 11:15 AM
End Date
4-13-2024 12:15 PM
Abstract
The climate crisis is fundamentally an issue of inequality, in both its origins and impact: The Global South is affected first and most severely by climate change, while the Global North continues to produce the vast majority of carbon emissions causing the problem. The impact it will continue to have on all current and future human life also makes the climate crisis fundamentally an issue of human rights. In the decades since international climate action began, these two most important aspects of the climate crisis have consistently been neglected. This paper will present one understanding of why this is by analyzing the history of the climate regime established under the UNFCCC, and its failure to adequately secure equity and human rights. Global climate injustice has long been the subject of much debate, but even prominent suggestions that claim to prioritize justice like Peter Singer’s proposal in One World Now do not go far enough to meet moral obligations to the vulnerable of today and the future, and fail to hold those who bear the greatest responsibility for this crisis accountable. This paper will respond to Singer’s proposal specifically, and will finally propose a climate approach rooted in a commitment to human rights and dignity. I will argue that there is a moral imperative to fully address the inequalities inherent to the causes and impacts of climate change, prioritize the most environmentally vulnerable, and act more quickly and drastically than ever before.
Reframing Climate Change- A Response to Peter Singer
CNS E103
The climate crisis is fundamentally an issue of inequality, in both its origins and impact: The Global South is affected first and most severely by climate change, while the Global North continues to produce the vast majority of carbon emissions causing the problem. The impact it will continue to have on all current and future human life also makes the climate crisis fundamentally an issue of human rights. In the decades since international climate action began, these two most important aspects of the climate crisis have consistently been neglected. This paper will present one understanding of why this is by analyzing the history of the climate regime established under the UNFCCC, and its failure to adequately secure equity and human rights. Global climate injustice has long been the subject of much debate, but even prominent suggestions that claim to prioritize justice like Peter Singer’s proposal in One World Now do not go far enough to meet moral obligations to the vulnerable of today and the future, and fail to hold those who bear the greatest responsibility for this crisis accountable. This paper will respond to Singer’s proposal specifically, and will finally propose a climate approach rooted in a commitment to human rights and dignity. I will argue that there is a moral imperative to fully address the inequalities inherent to the causes and impacts of climate change, prioritize the most environmentally vulnerable, and act more quickly and drastically than ever before.