Justice for Future Generations Climate Change and International Law

‘Human-induced climate change is the most fiendish legal and policy problem ever faced by humanity, and our very survival as a species hinges on whether we respond effectively to it. Those who will feel the most acute effects of climate change will be our future generations. In this groundbreaking work, Peter Lawrence sets out the case for addressing climate change today in order to safeguard the welfare of future generations. Lawrence explains that this is not just an imperative of morality, or of survival, but is in fact a mandate of justice. Drawing on a wide range of philosophical and jurisprudential thinking, Lawrence distils core principles of justice to animate our efforts to mitigate climate change. This is an immensely important work, that will have a significant influence on how societies and governments conceptualise and respond to the climate problem.’
– Timothy Stephens, University of Sydney, Australia

Peter Lawrence’s Justice for Future Generations breaks new ground by using a multidisciplinary approach to tackle the issue of what ethical obligations current generations have towards future generations in addressing the threat of climate change. This insightful book draws on contemporary theories of justice to develop a number of principles which are used to critique the existing global climate change treaties. These principles are also used as a blueprint for suggestions on how to develop a much-needed global treaty on climate change. The approach is pragmatic in that the justice–ethics argument rests on widely shared values and is informed by the author’s extensive experience in the negotiation of global environmental treaties as an Australian diplomat.