
Philosophical Foundations of Climate Change Policy
Joseph Heath(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 16. November 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-0-19-780716-3 (ISBN)
Description
There is widespread agreement that something must be done to combat anthropogenic climate change. And yet what is the extent of our obligations? It would clearly be unjust for us to allow global warming to reach dangerous levels. But what is the nature of this injustice? Providing a plausible philosophical specification of the wrongness of our present inaction has proven surprisingly difficult. Much of this is due to the temporal structure of the problem, or the fact that there is such a significant delay between our actions and the effects that they produce. Many normative theories that sound plausible when applied to contemporaneous problems generate surprising or perverse results when applied to problems that extend over long periods of time, involving effects on individuals who have not yet been born. So while states have a range of sensible climate change policies at their disposal, the philosophical foundations of these policies remains indeterminate.
By far the most influential philosophical position has been the variant of utilitarianism most popular among economists, which maintains that we have an obligation to maximize the well-being of all people, from now until the end of time. Climate change represents an obvious failure of maximization. Many environmental philosophers, however, find this argument unpersuasive, because it also implies that we have an obligation to maximize economic growth. Yet their attempts to provide alternative foundations for policy have proven unpersuasive. Joseph Heath presents an approach to thinking about climate change policy grounded in social contract theory, which focuses on the fairness of existing institutions, not the welfare of future generations, in order to generate a set of plausible policy prescriptions.
By far the most influential philosophical position has been the variant of utilitarianism most popular among economists, which maintains that we have an obligation to maximize the well-being of all people, from now until the end of time. Climate change represents an obvious failure of maximization. Many environmental philosophers, however, find this argument unpersuasive, because it also implies that we have an obligation to maximize economic growth. Yet their attempts to provide alternative foundations for policy have proven unpersuasive. Joseph Heath presents an approach to thinking about climate change policy grounded in social contract theory, which focuses on the fairness of existing institutions, not the welfare of future generations, in order to generate a set of plausible policy prescriptions.
Reviews / Votes
Heath presents a valuable new substantiation of the merits of contractualism to explain our duties to future generations and makes a convincing case that environmental philosophers should take core insights from economics seriously, such as the inevitability of making trade-offs. Heath moreover offers some long-awaited debunkings of misconceptions in the climate debate. * Marc Davidson, Utilitas * He often defends conventional, economics-focused claims which rub many philosophers the wrong way- claims that are at the heart of issues raised in these pages, claims such as that discounting is justifiable, growth is good, or cost-benefit analysis is appropriate in liberal democracies. In the climate ethics community, many of these claims are fiercely opposed; however, I think we can all agree that sophisticated defences of conventional positions play an important part in the ecosystem. * Kian Mintz-Woo, Economics and Philosophy * Its main value is in providing a stark, but sophisticated defense of a particular worldview, albeit with a specific twist and a few unorthodox suggestions of its own. While Heaths position is controversial-even extreme-in various ways, sharing the journey with him is a useful, informative, and engaging experience. * Stephen Gardiner, The Philosophical Review *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 232 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
499 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-780716-3 (9780197807163)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
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Joseph Heath
Philosophical Foundations of Climate Change Policy
Book
09/2021
Oxford University Press Inc
€105.10
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Joseph Heath is Professor in the Department of Philosophy and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. A fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Trudeau Foundation, Heath is the author of several books, both popular and academic. He is also the author of Enlightenment 2.0, which won the Shaughnessy Cohen prize for Political Writing in Canada.
Author
Professor, Department of Philosophy, and Munk School of Global Affairs and Public PolicyProfessor, Department of Philosophy, and Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto
Content
Introduction
1. False Starts
1.1 Traditional environmental ethics
1.2 Liberal environmentalism
1.3 Conclusion
2. Climate Change and Growth
2.1 The undemandingness problem
2.2 Limits to growth
2.3 Impacts of climate change
2.4 Sustainability and fungibility
2.5 Catastrophe
2.6 Conclusion
3. Intergenerational Justice
3.1 The consequentialist challenge
3.2 The structure of intergenerational cooperation
3.3 Applications and objections
3.4 Just savings
3.5. Conclusion
4. Carbon Pricing
4.1 Market reciprocity
4.2 Carbon pricing
4.3 Example: food
4.4 Complementary policies
4.5 Conclusion
5. The Social Cost of Carbon
5.1 Embedded CBA
5.2 Basic principles of CBA
5.3 CBA and regulation
5.4 Objections and replies
5.5 Climate change
5.6 Compensating the losers
6. Positive Social Time Preference
6.1 The case for temporal neutrality
6.2 Reflective equilibrium
6.3 Institutionalized responsibility
6.4 Thinking politically
6.5 Discounting for deontologists
6.6 Conclusion
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
1. False Starts
1.1 Traditional environmental ethics
1.2 Liberal environmentalism
1.3 Conclusion
2. Climate Change and Growth
2.1 The undemandingness problem
2.2 Limits to growth
2.3 Impacts of climate change
2.4 Sustainability and fungibility
2.5 Catastrophe
2.6 Conclusion
3. Intergenerational Justice
3.1 The consequentialist challenge
3.2 The structure of intergenerational cooperation
3.3 Applications and objections
3.4 Just savings
3.5. Conclusion
4. Carbon Pricing
4.1 Market reciprocity
4.2 Carbon pricing
4.3 Example: food
4.4 Complementary policies
4.5 Conclusion
5. The Social Cost of Carbon
5.1 Embedded CBA
5.2 Basic principles of CBA
5.3 CBA and regulation
5.4 Objections and replies
5.5 Climate change
5.6 Compensating the losers
6. Positive Social Time Preference
6.1 The case for temporal neutrality
6.2 Reflective equilibrium
6.3 Institutionalized responsibility
6.4 Thinking politically
6.5 Discounting for deontologists
6.6 Conclusion
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography