Large inequalities in climate mitigation scenarios are not supported by theories of distributive justice

Abstract

Existing global climate mitigation scenarios perpetuate large inequalities in energy and income between countries and regions for the rest of the century, and modellers have recently begun to assess these dynamics in light of distributive justice theories. However, these theories are intended to describe inequalities within nations and cannot straightforwardly be applied to inequalities between nations or world regions. Indeed, an analysis of key distributive justice theories suggests that, in contexts of international or interregional inequalities, moral justifications for inequality cannot be sustained, while arguments in favour of egalitarianism become stronger.