ABSTRACT
The potential impact of climate change is the most recent manifestation of human influence on nature, and a source of concern for the preservation of its beauty. This chapter explains the occurrence of climate change significantly complicates the debate over environmental aesthetics developed during the last 50 years, and makes all attempts of moving 'from beauty to duty'. The revival of environmental aesthetics is, therefore, also linked with its potential capacity to influence the preservation of nature. Cognitive approaches emphasize the fundamental role that knowledge plays in the aesthetic experience. The information comes mainly from two sources: cultural traditions that tell stories about places and natural features that disclose what nature actually is. The scientific approach, the most developed among cognitive ones, borrows the need for categories from the aesthetics developed in art. The remote future scenarios, which climate change brings about, force us to adopt a cosmic perspective, or at least a very long-term one.
