Ethics of climate change

Size corresponds to climate change vulnerability (determined by the University of Notre Dame's ND-Gain Index), with larger countries being more vulnerable. Color corresponds to total GHG emissions, including land-use change (2011), with a darker shade indicating higher emissions.

Climate change ethics explores the moral implications of climate change. Scientists, economists, and policymakers apply neutral values to their study of climate change ethics. Some philosophers, such as Stephen M. Gardiner and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) writers, argue that climate change raises moral issues requiring value-laden judgments.

The two ethical implications of climate change are related to its effects. Anthropogenic climate change is caused mainly by humans burning fossil fuels. The primary beneficiaries of fossil fuel burning are developed countries whereas the majority of climate impacts will be felt by the developing world. Climate change occurs on timescales much greater than a single generation of the human population, causing conflict between economic and political interests which are products of society and the interests of future people.

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