Brown, Donald2019-09-252019-09-252013-03-302012http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/189514Many observers of climate change policy developments around the world agree that climate change is a civilization-challenging ethical problem, yet most governments have utterly failed to enact climate change policies consistent with what ethics and justice would require of them. For instance, nations continue to approach international climate negotiations as if their economic interests alone are a legitimate guide for domestic climate change policy formation rather than their ethical responsibilities to others. Yet climate change is obviously a civilization challenging ethical problem because: High emitting nations and individuals are putting poor people around the world at greatest risk of harm, people who have done little to cause the problem. The harms to the victims are not mere inconveniences but potentially catastrophic losses of life or damages to ecological systems on which life depends. Most of the victims in poor countries can do little to protect themselves from harsh climate impacts including petitioning their governments to protect them; their best hope is that high emitters will see that they have duties to the victims to lower their greenhouse gas emissions.engWith permission of the license/copyright holdergovernments, policies, economic interests, climate changeclimate ethicsPolitical ethicsEnvironmental ethicsEthics of lawRights based legal ethicsPreprint