Steve Vanderheiden
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195334609
- eISBN:
- 9780199868759
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195334609.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
When policies of or activities within one country and generation cause deleterious consequences for those of other nations and later generations, they can constitute serious injustices. Hence, ...
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When policies of or activities within one country and generation cause deleterious consequences for those of other nations and later generations, they can constitute serious injustices. Hence, anthropogenic climate change poses not only a global environmental threat, but also one to international and intergenerational justice. The avoidance of such injustice has been recognized as a primary objective of global climate policy, and this book aims to comprehend the nature of this objective–to explore how climate change raises issues of international and intergenerational justice and to consider how the design of a global climate regime might these aims into account. Enlisting conceptual tools from ethics as well as legal and political theory, it treats justice as concerned with equity and responsibility and considers how each is undermined by climate change but might be incorporated into climate policy. Various theoretical problems in applying norms of equity and responsibility across borders, over time, and to nations for their greenhouse emissions are considered, and responses are given to these challenges. Finally, an outline for a global climate policy that adequately incorporates norms of justice is articulated and defended, along with a case for procedural fairness in policy development processes. Demonstrating how political theory can usefully contribute toward better understanding the proper human response to climate change as well as how the climate case offers insights into resolving contemporary controversies within political theory, the book offers a case study in which the application of normative theory to policy allows readers to better understand both.Less
When policies of or activities within one country and generation cause deleterious consequences for those of other nations and later generations, they can constitute serious injustices. Hence, anthropogenic climate change poses not only a global environmental threat, but also one to international and intergenerational justice. The avoidance of such injustice has been recognized as a primary objective of global climate policy, and this book aims to comprehend the nature of this objective–to explore how climate change raises issues of international and intergenerational justice and to consider how the design of a global climate regime might these aims into account. Enlisting conceptual tools from ethics as well as legal and political theory, it treats justice as concerned with equity and responsibility and considers how each is undermined by climate change but might be incorporated into climate policy. Various theoretical problems in applying norms of equity and responsibility across borders, over time, and to nations for their greenhouse emissions are considered, and responses are given to these challenges. Finally, an outline for a global climate policy that adequately incorporates norms of justice is articulated and defended, along with a case for procedural fairness in policy development processes. Demonstrating how political theory can usefully contribute toward better understanding the proper human response to climate change as well as how the climate case offers insights into resolving contemporary controversies within political theory, the book offers a case study in which the application of normative theory to policy allows readers to better understand both.
Paul Brown
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0021
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Tipping points are exciting yet frustrating for journalists. They evoke progressive disaster and possible sudden catastrophe. But the scientific uncertainty over their onset and outcome makes it very ...
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Tipping points are exciting yet frustrating for journalists. They evoke progressive disaster and possible sudden catastrophe. But the scientific uncertainty over their onset and outcome makes it very difficult for the serious journalist to be sure of what information to convey and when in the awareness cycle. Where there is good chance of reversibility and where there is political or economic inaction of obfuscation, there is a news story. But the social network is hampering the accuracy and clarity of communication and clogging up useful and productive debate. Journalists need to develop the courage, and to guide their news desks accordingly, that seriously important tipping points, even if vaguely familiar to readers, still require persistent and accurate coverage.Less
Tipping points are exciting yet frustrating for journalists. They evoke progressive disaster and possible sudden catastrophe. But the scientific uncertainty over their onset and outcome makes it very difficult for the serious journalist to be sure of what information to convey and when in the awareness cycle. Where there is good chance of reversibility and where there is political or economic inaction of obfuscation, there is a news story. But the social network is hampering the accuracy and clarity of communication and clogging up useful and productive debate. Journalists need to develop the courage, and to guide their news desks accordingly, that seriously important tipping points, even if vaguely familiar to readers, still require persistent and accurate coverage.
Robin Leichenko and Karen O'Brien
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195177329
- eISBN:
- 9780199869800
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177329.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
This book explores the connections between two of the most transformative processes of the 21st century, namely global environmental change and globalization. It presents a conceptual framework for ...
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This book explores the connections between two of the most transformative processes of the 21st century, namely global environmental change and globalization. It presents a conceptual framework for analyzing the interactions between these two processes, and illustrates, through case studies, how these interactions create situations of “double exposure.” Drawing upon case studies largely related to climate change, the book shows how prominent recent and current environmental events — recurring droughts in India, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and the melting of the Arctic ice sheet — demonstrate different pathways of interaction between globalization and global environmental change. Each of these pathways shows how broader human security concerns, including increasing inequality, growing vulnerability, and unsustainable rates of development, are integrally connected to both processes of global change. The double exposure framework not only sheds light on the dangers associated with these two global processes, but also reveals possibilities for using the interactions to generate opportunities for positive action. The book ultimately challenges the ways that global environmental change and globalization are viewed and addressed. By drawing attention to double exposure, the book shows how integrated responses to global environmental change and globalization can create new types of synergies that promote sustainability and enhance human security.Less
This book explores the connections between two of the most transformative processes of the 21st century, namely global environmental change and globalization. It presents a conceptual framework for analyzing the interactions between these two processes, and illustrates, through case studies, how these interactions create situations of “double exposure.” Drawing upon case studies largely related to climate change, the book shows how prominent recent and current environmental events — recurring droughts in India, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and the melting of the Arctic ice sheet — demonstrate different pathways of interaction between globalization and global environmental change. Each of these pathways shows how broader human security concerns, including increasing inequality, growing vulnerability, and unsustainable rates of development, are integrally connected to both processes of global change. The double exposure framework not only sheds light on the dangers associated with these two global processes, but also reveals possibilities for using the interactions to generate opportunities for positive action. The book ultimately challenges the ways that global environmental change and globalization are viewed and addressed. By drawing attention to double exposure, the book shows how integrated responses to global environmental change and globalization can create new types of synergies that promote sustainability and enhance human security.
John D. Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198515340
- eISBN:
- 9780191705687
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198515340.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Plant Sciences and Forestry
This book integrates a diverse and scattered literature to produce a synthetic account of plant evolutionary ecology. The central theme is differentiation, both among and within species, in the ...
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This book integrates a diverse and scattered literature to produce a synthetic account of plant evolutionary ecology. The central theme is differentiation, both among and within species, in the contemporary flora of the Mediterranean basin. This theme is developed by linking population processes to species evolution, and by examining the variation and evolution of ecological function in the context of spatial habitat variation and regional history. The Mediterranean is a region with a complex geological and climatic history, and a highly heterogeneous landscape in which human activities have greatly modified local conditions and the spatial configuration of habitats. This book explores the evolutionary processes that have shaped plant evolution in the context of these major influences on vegetation. The book is structured around two central topics in evolutionary ecology: diversity and adaptation. The Mediterranean region is a hotspot of plant biodiversity, a key ingredient of which is its richness in endemic species. A primary question motivating this book concerns the role of historical factors and spatial environmental variation in the evolution of such endemism. The Mediterranean landscape is also characterized by dramatic variations in ecological conditions, often over short distances. A second focus is on the ecological and historical factors that mediate dispersal, reproduction, and adaptive trait variation in the Mediterranean mosaic.Less
This book integrates a diverse and scattered literature to produce a synthetic account of plant evolutionary ecology. The central theme is differentiation, both among and within species, in the contemporary flora of the Mediterranean basin. This theme is developed by linking population processes to species evolution, and by examining the variation and evolution of ecological function in the context of spatial habitat variation and regional history. The Mediterranean is a region with a complex geological and climatic history, and a highly heterogeneous landscape in which human activities have greatly modified local conditions and the spatial configuration of habitats. This book explores the evolutionary processes that have shaped plant evolution in the context of these major influences on vegetation. The book is structured around two central topics in evolutionary ecology: diversity and adaptation. The Mediterranean region is a hotspot of plant biodiversity, a key ingredient of which is its richness in endemic species. A primary question motivating this book concerns the role of historical factors and spatial environmental variation in the evolution of such endemism. The Mediterranean landscape is also characterized by dramatic variations in ecological conditions, often over short distances. A second focus is on the ecological and historical factors that mediate dispersal, reproduction, and adaptive trait variation in the Mediterranean mosaic.
Eric Post
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198507499
- eISBN:
- 9780191709845
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198507499.003.0015
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
Temporal lags in the response of populations to climatic variation associated with the NAO are widespread in both terrestrial and marine environments. The existence of both immediate and lagged ...
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Temporal lags in the response of populations to climatic variation associated with the NAO are widespread in both terrestrial and marine environments. The existence of both immediate and lagged responses to climate presents conceptual and analytical challenges to the study of the ecological consequences of large-scale climatic variability, as well as to the ability to forecast population responses to future climatic change. This chapter discusses the influence of atmospheric processes, life history, and trophic interactions on time lags. It argues that the existence of time lags in a multitude of systems can be exploited to one obvious advantage: prediction. Hence, an empirically-derived basis for improving conceptual and analytical understanding of lagged responses to climate should prove valuable in the pursuit of scientifically robust predictions of population and community response to future climate changes.Less
Temporal lags in the response of populations to climatic variation associated with the NAO are widespread in both terrestrial and marine environments. The existence of both immediate and lagged responses to climate presents conceptual and analytical challenges to the study of the ecological consequences of large-scale climatic variability, as well as to the ability to forecast population responses to future climatic change. This chapter discusses the influence of atmospheric processes, life history, and trophic interactions on time lags. It argues that the existence of time lags in a multitude of systems can be exploited to one obvious advantage: prediction. Hence, an empirically-derived basis for improving conceptual and analytical understanding of lagged responses to climate should prove valuable in the pursuit of scientifically robust predictions of population and community response to future climate changes.
Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199653645
- eISBN:
- 9780191742033
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199653645.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Most of their history human beings have lived in comparatively small and close‐knit societies, with a primitive technology that allowed them to affect only their most immediate environment. Their ...
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Most of their history human beings have lived in comparatively small and close‐knit societies, with a primitive technology that allowed them to affect only their most immediate environment. Their moral psychology is therefore adpated to make them fit to live in these conditions; it is myopic, restricted to a concern about kin and people in the neighbourhood in the immediate future. But by scientific technology humans have radically changed their living conditions, while their moral psychology has remained fundamentally the same through this change, which is occurring with an accelerating speed. Human beings now live in societies with millions of citizens, and with an advanced scientific technology that enables them to exercise an influence that extends all over the world and far into the future. This is leading to increasing environmental degradation and to deleterious climate change. The advanced scientific technology has also equipped human beings with nuclear and biological weapons of mass destruction, which might be used by states in wars over dwindling natural resources, or by terrorists. Liberal democracies cannot overcome these threats merely by developing novel technology. What is needed is an enhancement of the moral dispositions of their citizens, an extension of their moral concern beyond a small circle of personal acquaintances and further into the future. Otherwise, human civilization is jeopardized. It is doubtful whether this moral enhancement could be accomplished solely by means of traditional moral education. Therefore, we should explore, in addition, the prospects of moral enhancement by alternative, biomedical means.Less
Most of their history human beings have lived in comparatively small and close‐knit societies, with a primitive technology that allowed them to affect only their most immediate environment. Their moral psychology is therefore adpated to make them fit to live in these conditions; it is myopic, restricted to a concern about kin and people in the neighbourhood in the immediate future. But by scientific technology humans have radically changed their living conditions, while their moral psychology has remained fundamentally the same through this change, which is occurring with an accelerating speed. Human beings now live in societies with millions of citizens, and with an advanced scientific technology that enables them to exercise an influence that extends all over the world and far into the future. This is leading to increasing environmental degradation and to deleterious climate change. The advanced scientific technology has also equipped human beings with nuclear and biological weapons of mass destruction, which might be used by states in wars over dwindling natural resources, or by terrorists. Liberal democracies cannot overcome these threats merely by developing novel technology. What is needed is an enhancement of the moral dispositions of their citizens, an extension of their moral concern beyond a small circle of personal acquaintances and further into the future. Otherwise, human civilization is jeopardized. It is doubtful whether this moral enhancement could be accomplished solely by means of traditional moral education. Therefore, we should explore, in addition, the prospects of moral enhancement by alternative, biomedical means.
Alfred Greiner and Willi Semmler
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328233
- eISBN:
- 9780199869985
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328233.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Recently, the public attention has turned toward the intricate interrelation between economic growth and global warming. This book focuses on this nexus but broadens the framework to study the issue. ...
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Recently, the public attention has turned toward the intricate interrelation between economic growth and global warming. This book focuses on this nexus but broadens the framework to study the issue. Growth is seen as global growth, which affects the global environment and climate change. Global growth, in particular high economic growth rates, implies a fast depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources. Thus, this book deals with the impact of the environment and the effect of the exhaustive use of natural resources on economic growth and welfare of market economies, as well as the reverse linkage. It is arranged in three parts: Part I of the book discusses the environment and growth. The role of environmental pollution is integrated into modern endogenous growth models and recently developed dynamic methods and techniques are used to derive appropriate abatement activities that policymakers can institute. Part II looks at global climate change using these same growth models. Here, too, direct and transparent policy implications are provided. More specifically, tax measures, such as a carbon tax, are favored over emission trading as instruments of mitigation policies. Part III evaluates the use and overuse of renewable and non-renewable resources in the context of a variety of dynamic models. This part of the book, in particular, considers the cases when resources interact as an ecological system and analyze issues of ownership of resources as well as policy measures to avoid the overuse of resources. In addition, not only intertemporal resource allocation but also the eminent issues relating to intertemporal inequities, as well as policy measures to overcome them, are discussed in each part of the book.Less
Recently, the public attention has turned toward the intricate interrelation between economic growth and global warming. This book focuses on this nexus but broadens the framework to study the issue. Growth is seen as global growth, which affects the global environment and climate change. Global growth, in particular high economic growth rates, implies a fast depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources. Thus, this book deals with the impact of the environment and the effect of the exhaustive use of natural resources on economic growth and welfare of market economies, as well as the reverse linkage. It is arranged in three parts: Part I of the book discusses the environment and growth. The role of environmental pollution is integrated into modern endogenous growth models and recently developed dynamic methods and techniques are used to derive appropriate abatement activities that policymakers can institute. Part II looks at global climate change using these same growth models. Here, too, direct and transparent policy implications are provided. More specifically, tax measures, such as a carbon tax, are favored over emission trading as instruments of mitigation policies. Part III evaluates the use and overuse of renewable and non-renewable resources in the context of a variety of dynamic models. This part of the book, in particular, considers the cases when resources interact as an ecological system and analyze issues of ownership of resources as well as policy measures to avoid the overuse of resources. In addition, not only intertemporal resource allocation but also the eminent issues relating to intertemporal inequities, as well as policy measures to overcome them, are discussed in each part of the book.
Rami Benbenishty and Ron Avi Astor
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195157802
- eISBN:
- 9780199864393
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195157802.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Children and Families, Crime and Justice
The book explores and differentiates the many manifestations of school violence, such as verbal, social, threats, bullying, physical, sexual harassment, and weapons possession, as well as ...
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The book explores and differentiates the many manifestations of school violence, such as verbal, social, threats, bullying, physical, sexual harassment, and weapons possession, as well as staff-initiated violence against students. It presents a socio-ecological model of school violence in context, and explores the role of culture, religion, neighborhood, family, school characteristics (such as size), age, and gender. The model outlines how aspects of school climate, including anti-violence policies, teacher-student relationships and student participation mediate the effects of the outside context and influence levels of victimization, feelings of safety and fear. The book presents a large scale nationally representative study of school violence conducted among Jewish and Arab students in Israel. A nested design (students within schools) was used to gather data from the multiple perspectives of students, teachers, and principals. Hierarchical regressions, multi-level analyses (HLM), and structural equation models (EQS) are used to assess the relative impact of culture, religion, poverty, school characteristics, and student gender and age. Finally, the book outlines a series of detailed recommendations to advance theory, research, monitoring of schools, and violence prevention policies and interventions.Less
The book explores and differentiates the many manifestations of school violence, such as verbal, social, threats, bullying, physical, sexual harassment, and weapons possession, as well as staff-initiated violence against students. It presents a socio-ecological model of school violence in context, and explores the role of culture, religion, neighborhood, family, school characteristics (such as size), age, and gender. The model outlines how aspects of school climate, including anti-violence policies, teacher-student relationships and student participation mediate the effects of the outside context and influence levels of victimization, feelings of safety and fear. The book presents a large scale nationally representative study of school violence conducted among Jewish and Arab students in Israel. A nested design (students within schools) was used to gather data from the multiple perspectives of students, teachers, and principals. Hierarchical regressions, multi-level analyses (HLM), and structural equation models (EQS) are used to assess the relative impact of culture, religion, poverty, school characteristics, and student gender and age. Finally, the book outlines a series of detailed recommendations to advance theory, research, monitoring of schools, and violence prevention policies and interventions.
Joanne Scott (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199565177
- eISBN:
- 9780191705359
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199565177.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, EU Law, Environmental and Energy Law
The EU has emerged as a major source of innovation in environmental governance. This is manifested through the frameworks it is putting in place for environmental governance, and through its position ...
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The EU has emerged as a major source of innovation in environmental governance. This is manifested through the frameworks it is putting in place for environmental governance, and through its position on the world stage for international environmental law. An institutional richness has developed which is sometimes daunting in its complexity but which offers much promise for the future. This book seeks to give a taste of this, and of the challenges which face the EU in its sustainable development phase. The book opens with a broad historical overview of the evolution of EU environmental governance. This discussion characterizes the most recent phase as that of sustainable development, in which the political dynamic is one of destabilization and the preferred instrument of decision-making, the reflexive framework directive. There follows a series of case studies, ranging from the general to the particular, that cover both the internal and external aspects of EU policy. These include recent key issues in EU environmental law and governance, such as the water framework directive, the new chemicals regime (REACH), and European responses to the challenge of climate change. These case studies engage with key issues in environmental law and governance, including environmental justice, the relationship between trade and environment, and participation in environmental decision-making.Less
The EU has emerged as a major source of innovation in environmental governance. This is manifested through the frameworks it is putting in place for environmental governance, and through its position on the world stage for international environmental law. An institutional richness has developed which is sometimes daunting in its complexity but which offers much promise for the future. This book seeks to give a taste of this, and of the challenges which face the EU in its sustainable development phase. The book opens with a broad historical overview of the evolution of EU environmental governance. This discussion characterizes the most recent phase as that of sustainable development, in which the political dynamic is one of destabilization and the preferred instrument of decision-making, the reflexive framework directive. There follows a series of case studies, ranging from the general to the particular, that cover both the internal and external aspects of EU policy. These include recent key issues in EU environmental law and governance, such as the water framework directive, the new chemicals regime (REACH), and European responses to the challenge of climate change. These case studies engage with key issues in environmental law and governance, including environmental justice, the relationship between trade and environment, and participation in environmental decision-making.
Alfred Greiner and Willi Semmler
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328233
- eISBN:
- 9780199869985
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328233.003.0013
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter presents some concluding remarks about the economic model presented in Chapters 8-11. Part II of the book studied the interrelation between anthropogenic global warming and economic ...
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This chapter presents some concluding remarks about the economic model presented in Chapters 8-11. Part II of the book studied the interrelation between anthropogenic global warming and economic growth assuming a simple descriptive model of endogenous growth. Using simulations, it was shown that increases in abatement spending may yield a win-win situation. That means a rise in abatement activities both reduces greenhouse gas emissions and raises economic growth. This holds for both the balanced growth rate and for the growth rate of GDP on the transition path.Less
This chapter presents some concluding remarks about the economic model presented in Chapters 8-11. Part II of the book studied the interrelation between anthropogenic global warming and economic growth assuming a simple descriptive model of endogenous growth. Using simulations, it was shown that increases in abatement spending may yield a win-win situation. That means a rise in abatement activities both reduces greenhouse gas emissions and raises economic growth. This holds for both the balanced growth rate and for the growth rate of GDP on the transition path.
Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199653645
- eISBN:
- 9780191742033
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199653645.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter focuses on the question whether affluent liberal democracies can cope with the challenge to their survival that weapons of mass destruction, harmful climate change, and environmental ...
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This chapter focuses on the question whether affluent liberal democracies can cope with the challenge to their survival that weapons of mass destruction, harmful climate change, and environmental destruction pose. The nations of the European Union, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are affluent liberal democracies that face this challenge. A fully liberal state is a state in which every citizen has equal rights and liberties, which are as extensive as they could be consistently with all others having the same rights and liberties. In these states this equality of rights and liberties coexists with a considerable socio-economical inequality. This raises questions about the extent to which these states are just and can be called true democracies. These questions are however beyond the scope of this book.Less
This chapter focuses on the question whether affluent liberal democracies can cope with the challenge to their survival that weapons of mass destruction, harmful climate change, and environmental destruction pose. The nations of the European Union, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are affluent liberal democracies that face this challenge. A fully liberal state is a state in which every citizen has equal rights and liberties, which are as extensive as they could be consistently with all others having the same rights and liberties. In these states this equality of rights and liberties coexists with a considerable socio-economical inequality. This raises questions about the extent to which these states are just and can be called true democracies. These questions are however beyond the scope of this book.
Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199653645
- eISBN:
- 9780191742033
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199653645.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy
The more our power to act — including our power to prevent suffering — grows because of the advance of scientific technology, the more important it becomes to see the falsity of the act-omission ...
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The more our power to act — including our power to prevent suffering — grows because of the advance of scientific technology, the more important it becomes to see the falsity of the act-omission doctrine, the doctrine that it is more difficult to justify morally causing harm than letting it occur, by omitting to prevent it. This doctrine, together with our limited altruism and incapacity to be proportionately altruistic with regard to larger groups of suffering people, explains why people in affluent nations have done so little in the last decades to mitigate global inequality. The problem of global inequality is not a main target of this book, but it is intimately connected to what is a main target, namely climate change and environmental destruction. This is because the problem of global inequality makes it more difficult to stop climate change and environmental destruction in a morally acceptable way.Less
The more our power to act — including our power to prevent suffering — grows because of the advance of scientific technology, the more important it becomes to see the falsity of the act-omission doctrine, the doctrine that it is more difficult to justify morally causing harm than letting it occur, by omitting to prevent it. This doctrine, together with our limited altruism and incapacity to be proportionately altruistic with regard to larger groups of suffering people, explains why people in affluent nations have done so little in the last decades to mitigate global inequality. The problem of global inequality is not a main target of this book, but it is intimately connected to what is a main target, namely climate change and environmental destruction. This is because the problem of global inequality makes it more difficult to stop climate change and environmental destruction in a morally acceptable way.
Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199653645
- eISBN:
- 9780191742033
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199653645.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Robust authoritarian governments are better placed than democratic governments to implement unpopular reforms effectively, so it might seem that they have a better chance of tackling human induced ...
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Robust authoritarian governments are better placed than democratic governments to implement unpopular reforms effectively, so it might seem that they have a better chance of tackling human induced climatic and environmental deterioration. The fact that it is easier for authoritarian governments to implement unpopular policies can perhaps be illustrated by China’s one-child policy which has enabled this nation to curb population growth more effectively than for instance India. However, history shows that the unpopular policies implemented by authoritarian regimes more often serve to consolidate the power of the ruling elite, or to enrich it, than promote the interest of societies overall. Therefore, a shift from democracy to authoritarianism is not an acceptable way to come to terms with human induced climate change and environmental destruction.Less
Robust authoritarian governments are better placed than democratic governments to implement unpopular reforms effectively, so it might seem that they have a better chance of tackling human induced climatic and environmental deterioration. The fact that it is easier for authoritarian governments to implement unpopular policies can perhaps be illustrated by China’s one-child policy which has enabled this nation to curb population growth more effectively than for instance India. However, history shows that the unpopular policies implemented by authoritarian regimes more often serve to consolidate the power of the ruling elite, or to enrich it, than promote the interest of societies overall. Therefore, a shift from democracy to authoritarianism is not an acceptable way to come to terms with human induced climate change and environmental destruction.
Scott Barrett
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199211890
- eISBN:
- 9780191695827
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199211890.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
Climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the threat of a global pandemic have the potential to impact each of our lives. Preventing these threats poses a serious global challenge, but ignoring them ...
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Climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the threat of a global pandemic have the potential to impact each of our lives. Preventing these threats poses a serious global challenge, but ignoring them could have disastrous consequences. How do we engineer institutions to change incentives so that these global public goods are provided? This book provides an introduction to the issues surrounding the provision of global public goods. Using a variety of examples to illustrate past successes and failures, the book shows how international cooperation, institutional design, and the clever use of incentives can work together to ensure the effective delivery of global public goods.Less
Climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the threat of a global pandemic have the potential to impact each of our lives. Preventing these threats poses a serious global challenge, but ignoring them could have disastrous consequences. How do we engineer institutions to change incentives so that these global public goods are provided? This book provides an introduction to the issues surrounding the provision of global public goods. Using a variety of examples to illustrate past successes and failures, the book shows how international cooperation, institutional design, and the clever use of incentives can work together to ensure the effective delivery of global public goods.
Erich Vranes
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199562787
- eISBN:
- 9780191705366
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562787.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law, EU Law
This book deals with a central topic in general international law, WTO law, and international environmental law, namely the relevance of the WTO legal system for environmental protection. The ...
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This book deals with a central topic in general international law, WTO law, and international environmental law, namely the relevance of the WTO legal system for environmental protection. The relationship between WTO law and international and domestic efforts to protect the environment has moved to centre stage in WTO and international environmental law. It has also spurred the discussion on fragmentation in international law in recent years. This book analyses these issues by examining the ‘horizontal’ interaction between WTO law and ‘other’ international law, the ‘vertical’ relationship between WTO law and domestic law, and the contents of and interrelations between fundamental provisions of WTO law. This study relies on established insights from legal theory in order to achieve greater clarity in legal argumentation. The main results of this analysis are applied to two topical instances of international regime interplay, namely the relevance of WTO law for international and domestic measures protecting the earth's climate and the ozone layer. A series of controversial topics in WTO and general international law are addressed in this book such as the notion of conflicts of norms and the resolution of conflicts of norms; the role of international law in WTO proceedings; extraterritorial jurisdiction and unilateral trade measures; proportionality and balancing of interests in international and WTO law; the core disciplines of the GATT and the TBT Agreement; process and production-based measures (PPMs) in WTO law; and climate protection, protection of the ozone layer, and WTO disciplines. Less
This book deals with a central topic in general international law, WTO law, and international environmental law, namely the relevance of the WTO legal system for environmental protection. The relationship between WTO law and international and domestic efforts to protect the environment has moved to centre stage in WTO and international environmental law. It has also spurred the discussion on fragmentation in international law in recent years. This book analyses these issues by examining the ‘horizontal’ interaction between WTO law and ‘other’ international law, the ‘vertical’ relationship between WTO law and domestic law, and the contents of and interrelations between fundamental provisions of WTO law. This study relies on established insights from legal theory in order to achieve greater clarity in legal argumentation. The main results of this analysis are applied to two topical instances of international regime interplay, namely the relevance of WTO law for international and domestic measures protecting the earth's climate and the ozone layer. A series of controversial topics in WTO and general international law are addressed in this book such as the notion of conflicts of norms and the resolution of conflicts of norms; the role of international law in WTO proceedings; extraterritorial jurisdiction and unilateral trade measures; proportionality and balancing of interests in international and WTO law; the core disciplines of the GATT and the TBT Agreement; process and production-based measures (PPMs) in WTO law; and climate protection, protection of the ozone layer, and WTO disciplines.
Steve Vanderheiden
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195334609
- eISBN:
- 9780199868759
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195334609.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This chapter begins with a short history of climate change as a policy issue, explaining the scientific basics of the phenomenon and culminating with an examination of current controversies over the ...
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This chapter begins with a short history of climate change as a policy issue, explaining the scientific basics of the phenomenon and culminating with an examination of current controversies over the scientific evidence establishing the existence and consequences of anthropogenic climate change as well as recent efforts to defeat mandatory national greenhouse gas emission caps. In particular, it examines the international climate policy process that generated the Kyoto Protocol, the industry-led campaigns of climate skepticism designed to defeat ratification of that treaty in the United States, and the development of U.S. climate policy through the secretive Cheney Energy Task Force, which effectively set the Bush administration's climate policy for its two terms. Finally, it considers the bases for ongoing rifts over climate policy between the U.S. and Europe as well as between industrialized and developing nations.Less
This chapter begins with a short history of climate change as a policy issue, explaining the scientific basics of the phenomenon and culminating with an examination of current controversies over the scientific evidence establishing the existence and consequences of anthropogenic climate change as well as recent efforts to defeat mandatory national greenhouse gas emission caps. In particular, it examines the international climate policy process that generated the Kyoto Protocol, the industry-led campaigns of climate skepticism designed to defeat ratification of that treaty in the United States, and the development of U.S. climate policy through the secretive Cheney Energy Task Force, which effectively set the Bush administration's climate policy for its two terms. Finally, it considers the bases for ongoing rifts over climate policy between the U.S. and Europe as well as between industrialized and developing nations.
Joe Smith
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0019
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Change is feared yet it is our constant companion. Communicating about tipping points can be examined through the ways climate change is being handled by the media. Global pervasiveness, endemic ...
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Change is feared yet it is our constant companion. Communicating about tipping points can be examined through the ways climate change is being handled by the media. Global pervasiveness, endemic uncertainty, striking interdependencies, postcolonial framing, interdisciplinarity, and varying representations of time form the cultural foundations for discourse and disagreement. Coverage of disasters affects popular interpretations, and unusual weather events trigger often misleading and inaccurate associations. The media have to straddle the better scientific interpretations and predictions with popular beliefs and associations. In the struggle for accuracy the demands of immediacy and novelty clash with competing news stories and over-familiarity.Less
Change is feared yet it is our constant companion. Communicating about tipping points can be examined through the ways climate change is being handled by the media. Global pervasiveness, endemic uncertainty, striking interdependencies, postcolonial framing, interdisciplinarity, and varying representations of time form the cultural foundations for discourse and disagreement. Coverage of disasters affects popular interpretations, and unusual weather events trigger often misleading and inaccurate associations. The media have to straddle the better scientific interpretations and predictions with popular beliefs and associations. In the struggle for accuracy the demands of immediacy and novelty clash with competing news stories and over-familiarity.
Erich Vranes
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199562787
- eISBN:
- 9780191705366
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562787.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law, EU Law
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the main questions examined in this book. It argues that there are three sets of questions which demarcate the so-called ‘trade and environment’ ...
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This introductory chapter provides an overview of the main questions examined in this book. It argues that there are three sets of questions which demarcate the so-called ‘trade and environment’ nexus: The first set of questions concerns the relationship between WTO law, multilateral environmental agreements, and non-WTO law more generally. This brings into play the issue of conflict of norms, the legal status of the lex specialis principle and similar legal maxims, and the concepts jurisdiction and applicable law in WTO dispute settlement. A second set of questions is related to the disputed concepts of extraterritorial jurisdiction and unilateral state action. A third group of issues concerns the scope and contents of relevant WTO disciplines. In this respect, this book examines the basic principles governing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement).Less
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the main questions examined in this book. It argues that there are three sets of questions which demarcate the so-called ‘trade and environment’ nexus: The first set of questions concerns the relationship between WTO law, multilateral environmental agreements, and non-WTO law more generally. This brings into play the issue of conflict of norms, the legal status of the lex specialis principle and similar legal maxims, and the concepts jurisdiction and applicable law in WTO dispute settlement. A second set of questions is related to the disputed concepts of extraterritorial jurisdiction and unilateral state action. A third group of issues concerns the scope and contents of relevant WTO disciplines. In this respect, this book examines the basic principles governing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement).
David Schlosberg
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286294
- eISBN:
- 9780191713323
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286294.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This chapter examines the use of the concept of environmental justice in various global movements, including the anti-globalization, food security, indigenous rights, and climate justice movements. ...
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This chapter examines the use of the concept of environmental justice in various global movements, including the anti-globalization, food security, indigenous rights, and climate justice movements. In each of these movements' use of the discourse of environmental justice, there are elements of equity and distribution, individual and cultural recognition, political participation, and individual and community functioning.Less
This chapter examines the use of the concept of environmental justice in various global movements, including the anti-globalization, food security, indigenous rights, and climate justice movements. In each of these movements' use of the discourse of environmental justice, there are elements of equity and distribution, individual and cultural recognition, political participation, and individual and community functioning.
William M. Lafferty and James Meadowcroft
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199242016
- eISBN:
- 9780191599736
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199242011.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This volume examines the response of governments in the industrialized countries to the challenge of sustainable development. It focuses on the response of central governments in Australia, Canada, ...
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This volume examines the response of governments in the industrialized countries to the challenge of sustainable development. It focuses on the response of central governments in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, the USA, and the EU. The study shows that sustainable development has been integrated into governmental idiom in most jurisdictions, and has come to be associated with a series of changes to the structures and approaches deployed to manage environmental problems. Yet, it also reveals significant differences of interpretation and priority across the governments surveyed. The study pays particular attention to various understandings of sustainable development, institutional reform, government engagement with other societal actors, national plans and strategies, and the policy areas of climate change and biodiversity.Less
This volume examines the response of governments in the industrialized countries to the challenge of sustainable development. It focuses on the response of central governments in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, the USA, and the EU. The study shows that sustainable development has been integrated into governmental idiom in most jurisdictions, and has come to be associated with a series of changes to the structures and approaches deployed to manage environmental problems. Yet, it also reveals significant differences of interpretation and priority across the governments surveyed. The study pays particular attention to various understandings of sustainable development, institutional reform, government engagement with other societal actors, national plans and strategies, and the policy areas of climate change and biodiversity.
