ABSTRACT

This chapter argues that the imminent threat of catastrophic climate change constitutes an immediate political, economic and ethical challenge for citizens of the developed world that cannot be tackled by appeals to asceticism, restraint or even a high price on carbon by itself. There can be no solution to climate change until sustainable conceptions of the good life are developed that those in the west want to live and which others might want to live. There can be no solution to climate change until sustainable conceptions of the good life are developed that those in the west want to live and which others might want to live. The global financial crisis, the 'global carbon crisis' demonstrates what happens when weaknesses in national, corporate and professional governance are exacerbated by weaknesses in global governance. Unlike the increasing flows of money, goods, people and ideas across national borders that constitute the heart of globalization, carbon flows across borders independently of human action.