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Global Climate Change—Who Ought to Pay the Bill?

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  • Julian Richard Massenberg

    (Department of Economics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany)

Abstract

Global climate change is a significant challenge for current and, particularly, future generations. In the public debate about the fair allocation of associated costs commonly the moral claim that the developed countries should burden the costs is expressed. To support this claim, often four moral arguments, based on the theory of justice, are raised: (i) the polluter pays, (ii) the historical responsibility, (iii) the beneficiary pays, and (iv) the ability to pay. The aim of the paper is to assess whether these principles impose a duty on the developed countries and whether a fair allocation of costs would be achieved.

Suggested Citation

  • Julian Richard Massenberg, 2021. "Global Climate Change—Who Ought to Pay the Bill?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-14, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:23:p:13393-:d:694248
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marshall Burke & Solomon M. Hsiang & Edward Miguel, 2015. "Global non-linear effect of temperature on economic production," Nature, Nature, vol. 527(7577), pages 235-239, November.
    2. Neumayer, Eric, 2000. "In defence of historical accountability for greenhouse gas emissions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 185-192, May.
    3. Mendelsohn, Robert & Dinar, Ariel & Williams, Larry, 2006. "The distributional impact of climate change on rich and poor countries," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(2), pages 159-178, April.
    4. Sonam Sahu & Izuru Saizen, 2019. "Emissions Sharing Observations from a Diverse Range of Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-15, July.
    5. Anton, Sorin Gabriel, 2021. "The impact of temperature increase on firm profitability. Empirical evidence from the European energy and gas sectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Giacomo Di Foggia & Massimo Beccarello & Ugo Arrigo, 2023. "Assessment of the European Emissions Trading System’s Impact on Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.

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