Abstract
This debate considers whether climate change is a human rights violation and introduces students to normative political theory and the international human rights law (HRL) framework. Catriona McKinnon argues that climate change is already damaging a morally fundamental subset of human rights and will continue to do so in the future. All persons, present and future, have basic rights to subsistence and security and this generates a general duty for all people to work to create and support rights-respecting institutions.
Marie-Catherine Petersmann challenges this position by highlighting the difficulties of
applying the HRL framework to climate change which, by its very nature, is a collective
action problem that cannot easily be linked to one duty bearer and one victim. Instead, she draws upon new insights from environmental humanities to offer a different way of thinking about co-responsible agents and beneficiaries of a stable climate.
Marie-Catherine Petersmann challenges this position by highlighting the difficulties of
applying the HRL framework to climate change which, by its very nature, is a collective
action problem that cannot easily be linked to one duty bearer and one victim. Instead, she draws upon new insights from environmental humanities to offer a different way of thinking about co-responsible agents and beneficiaries of a stable climate.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Contemporary climate change debates |
Subtitle of host publication | A student primer |
Editors | Mike Hulme |
Publisher | Routledge |
Chapter | 11 |
Pages | 160-173 |
Number of pages | 14 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780429446252 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781138332997 |
Publication status | Published - 11 Dec 2019 |
Externally published | Yes |