Climate Change Ethics — Prelims Strategy

Prelims Strategy

Start by identifying the function of the intervention. An early-warning system principally supports adaptation; replacing fossil generation with lower-emission power principally supports mitigation. Neither description automatically means compensation for losses already suffered. Read the action before selecting a familiar climate label.

For equity statements, test the measure. Annual emissions, cumulative emissions, per-capita emissions and financial capacity answer different questions. An option may contain a relevant criterion but present it as a complete allocation rule. The error lies in that sufficiency claim, not in the criterion being irrelevant.

Memorise the anchor sequence: UNFCCC 1992, Paris adoption 2015, and IPCC Synthesis Report 2023. Keep the report's 2011–2020 comparison with 1850–1900 attached to the warming figure; do not relabel it a 2026 observation.

Finally, distinguish ethical argument from legal effect. A statement about responsibility can be defensible without establishing an automatic individual compensation award. In hypothetical policy questions, check whether the proposed remedy reaches the group facing the stated barrier and whether it preserves the environmental objective.