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10 Melb. J. Int'l L. 424 (2009)
The Impossible Necessity of Climate Justice?

handle is hein.journals/meljil10 and id is 432 raw text is: THE IMPOSSIBLE NECESSITY OF CLIMATE JUSTICE? JEREMY BASKIN* It will be difficult to find an agreed solution to climate change that does not engage with climate justice. It is generally regarded as narve, when considering international relations, to focus on justice, or to emphasise right over might. In the case of climate change - perhaps uniquely - even the powerful need a genuinely global solution, which cannot be achieved without an engagement with justice. In this instance, might needs right. This think piece focuses on the North-South aspect of climate justice. It starts by unpacking the reasons why climate justice is important. It then argues that to assess whether a climate agreement or proposal is just, we need to examine four factors. Two are positive: that it should involve dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas concentrations; and that it should be fair and take into account both the varied current and historical responsibilities and the differing existing capacities of all involved. Two are negative: that it should not increase inequality; and that it should not increase the potential for international conflict. After outlining each of these components and why they are critical, I assess four broad proposals for dealing with climate change to see how they measure up. These are: equally-shared cuts in emissions; the 'contract and converge' model; the greenhouse development rights framework; and geo-engineering. CONTENTS I Introduction ........................................................................................................... 424 II W hy C lim ate Justice? ............................................................................................ 426 III C lim ate C hange Science ........................................................................................ 428 IV Four Elem ents of Clim ate Justice .......................................................................... 429 V Clim ate Justice and Policy Options ....................................................................... 433 V I C onclusion ............................................................................................................. 437 I INTRODUCTION It is clear that our disagreements about climate change have little to do with the science and a great deal to do with ourselves. We have fundamental differences regarding what we value, what obligations we have to others, and how we see our place on this planet. Many politicians are coming to grips with the magnitude of global emissions cuts needed, even if they are not yet acting upon it. At least in developed countries, however, the consideration of climate justice is not yet embedded in policy thinking. Indeed, if no meaningful agreement to tackle climate change is reached at or after the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen ('Copenhagen Conference') in December 2009, then a key reason for failing to agree will be a failure to address * Jeremy Baskin is the Director of the Australian Office of the University of Cambridge's Programme for Sustainability Leadership ('CPSL') and runs various programmes on sustainability in Australia and globally. He is on the faculty of CPSL's Business and the Environment Programme, the Business and Poverty Leadership Programme and the Chevening Programme on the Economics of Climate Change. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Melbourne Business School where he teaches Business and Sustainability in the MBA course; the Carbon Risk Program Director at the Australian Graduate School of Management Executive Programs; and on the faculty of the Chevening Programme on the Economics of Climate Change, which runs out of Cambridge. Thanks to Sundhya Pahuja and the anonymous referees for their constructive comments.

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