There’s an established academic discussion of climate ethics. But on the web, at least, little of it is systematic. ClimateEthics.org, brought to you by the Rock Ethics Institute, aims to fill the gap by bringing the ethical aspect of climate change science and policy front and center. This website, whose stated goal is to “provide a quick response in the form of ethical comments on issues in contention in climate change policy formation around the world,” seems to be the most focused and methodical clearinghouse on climate ethics in existence.
As such, it has noted GDRs on a number of occasion, most notably in Contraction & Convergence and Greenhouse Development Rights: A Critical Comparison Between Two Salient Climate-Ethical Concepts, and most recently in A Comprehensive Ethical Analysis of the Copenhagen Accord. The first of these is the more notable discussion of GDRs, though to be frank we don’t find it to be particularly impressive.
Philosophy has its uses, and its limits. Don Brown, the editor of ClimateEthics.org, is, fortunately, aware of both.
