Reply to my Critics: Justifying the Fair Share Argument

Abstract In an earlier article I argued that individuals are obligated not to exceed their fair share of emissions entitlements, that many exceed their fair share at present and thus ought to reduce their emissions as far as can reasonably be demanded. The peer commentators raised various insightful and pressing concerns, but the following objections seem particularly important: It was argued that the fair share argument is insufficiently justified, that it is incoherent, that it would result in more far-reaching duties than acknowledged by me, that it is unable to provide a clear account of individual duties, and that duties to reduce individual emissions are not Kantian imperfect duties. This reply aims at clarifying the fair share argument and at addressing the major challenges.

[1]  Sabine Hohl.  Individuelle Verantwortung für kollektiv verursachte Übel , 2017 .

[2]  Lukas H. Meyer,et al.  In Defense of Emissions Egalitarianism , 2017 .

[3]  Christian Baatz.  Can we have it Both Ways? On Potential Trade-Offs between Mitigation and Solar Radiation Management , 2016 .

[4]  Brian Berkey,et al.  Climate Justice: Vulnerability and Protection , 2016 .

[5]  L. Voget-Kleschin,et al.  Individual Duties Regarding Global Environmental Problems – The Example of Climate Change , 2015 .

[6]  Makoto Suzuki.  Climate Matters: Ethics in a Warming World , 2015 .

[7]  Derek Edyvane.  The Right to Justification: Elements of a Constructivist Theory of Justice , 2014 .

[8]  P. Bowman.  Fair Shares and Decent Lives , 2014 .

[9]  Mark B. Budolfson.  Self-Defense, Harm to Others, and Reasons for Action in Collective Action Problems , 2014 .

[10]  Göran Duus-Otterström.  Individual climate obligations and non-subsistence emissions , 2014 .

[11]  Christian Baatz.  Climate Change and Individual Duties to Reduce GHG Emissions , 2014 .

[12]  Christian Seidel.  On ‘imperfect’ imperfect duties and the epistemic demands of integrationist approaches to justice , 2014 .

[13]  R. Anthony.  Atmospheric Commons as a Public Trust Resource: The Common Heritage of MankindPrinciple in Dialogue with Duties of Citizenship , 2014 .

[14]  Stijn Neuteleers.  Individual Environmental Duties: Questions from an Institution-Oriented Perspective , 2014 .

[15]  Patrick R. Frierson.  Kant, Individual Responsibility, and Climate Change , 2014 .

[16]  Säde Hormio.  Climate Change and the Moral Agent: Individual Duties in an Interdependent World , 2014 .

[17]  Aaron Maltais.  Radically Non-Ideal Climate Politics and the Obligation to at Least Vote Green , 2013 .

[18]  Martin van Hees,et al.  An Anatomy of Moral Responsibility , 2012 .

[19]  Eva Erman.  The Right to Justification : Elements of a Constructivist Theory of Justice , 2012 .

[20]  Ty Raterman.  Bearing the Weight of the World: On the Extent of an Individual's Environmental Responsibility , 2012 .

[21]  M. Aufrecht.  Climate Change and Structural Emissions: Moral Obligations at the Individual Level , 2011 .

[22]  John Nolt,et al.  How Harmful Are the Average American's Greenhouse Gas Emissions? , 2011 .

[23]  Stijn Neuteleers.  Institutions versus lifestyle: do citizens have environmental duties in their private sphere? , 2010 .

[24]  S. Caney.  Markets, Morality and Climate Change: What, if Anything, is Wrong with Emissions Trading? , 2010 .

[25]  Cheryl R. Kaiser,et al.  It's Not My Fault: When and Why Attributions to Prejudice Protect Self-Esteem , 2003, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[26]  D. Hall.  Advances in the economics of environmental resources , 1996 .

[27]  R Davidhizar,et al.  "That's not my fault!". , 1995, The Health care supervisor.

[28]  N. Smith.  Justification and Application: Remarks on Discourse Ethics , 1994 .

[29]  M. Baron.  Kantian ethics and supererogation , 1987 .

[30]  Immanuel Kant,et al.  Die Metaphysik der Sitten , 1982 .

[31]  T. Hill.  KANT ON IMPERFECT DUTY AND SUPEREROGATION , 1971 .

[32]  Immanuel Kant.  Die Religion innerhalb der Grenzen der bloßen Vernunft ; Die Metaphysik der Sitten , 1968 .