ABSTRACT
The leading research question in this book is whether long-term environmental responsibility is implied by an account of human rights. To address this question, the emphasis will be on spelling out to what extent human rights – conceived as a legal institution built on a moral idea – require respect for people living in the near or distant future. The first part of the book will be legal in focus, explaining to what degree long-term environmental concern is consistent with, and can be framed in terms of, existing human rights practices and documents. The second part of the book will identify, at a conceptual level, the argumentative possibilities and obstacles that there are for framing long-term implications of human rights. The third part of the book considers various ways in which a human rights-based approach to long-term responsibility makes a distinctive contribution. The fourth part of the book discusses what requirements long-term responsibilities based on human rights would entail for human rights practice itself.
