The Ethics of the Climate Crisis

The planet is in crisis. Time is short, but it is still possible to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions before disaster overtakes us all.

Renowned philosopher Robin Attfield explains the moral reasons for urgent action based on current harms, threats to future generations, and to the species with which we share the planet. In compelling and student-friendly prose, he explores the science of climate change, biodiversity loss and air pollution, climate injustices, political implications of the crisis, and possible responses. Among other things, he argues that measures to introduce climate justice should be paid for by countries able to pay, and by the big polluters in particular. The recently agreed Loss and Damage fund can play a central part in climate funding. Related political measures, such as the introduction of Ecocide as an international crime alongside war crimes, also give cause for hope.

Attfield’s passionately argued twentieth book, The Ethics of the Climate Crisis, is crucial reading for our times.

Robin Attfield is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Cardiff University.