ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the motivational resources available for a consistent climate politics. It first presents an overview of the psychological factors that stand in the way of an adequate care for the global future and pose serious obstacles to a practical acceptance of policies designed to slow down climate change. The chapter proposes avenues that might circumvent these obstacles by relying on indirect motivations and self-binding through institutional arrangements. It explores the possibility that more indirect motivations than the recognition of abstract norms and principles or sympathy with far-off people might function as motivational substitutes. The chapter concludes with some tentative remarks on what further work has still to be done to overcome motivational deficiencies in regard to future threats. Another indirect motive that may serve as the basis for a morality of sustainability is the need for overarching aims transcending one's person, one's lifetime and one's immediate environment.