ABSTRACT
The moral salience of the outcome being pursued – fair, efficient, effective global-level climate change mitigation and adaptation – is ultimately grounded in the normative priority of protecting basic rights or interests. The global elite owe it to the victims of climate change to secure an effective end to climate injustice and to one another to do it fairly and efficiently. Act with motivated others, in so far as possible at reasonable cost to oneself, so as best to promote effective progress on global level climate change mitigation and adaptation as fairly and efficiency as feasible. Finally, thinking purely in terms of contribution to the harm done by climate change – rather than participating in combined or collective action to prevent such harm – one’s individual emissions arguably have some moral significance. However, the reasons for such cuts must be balanced against other possible consequences available through cooperative action within the limits of demandingness.
