Debating Climate Ethics

Stephen M. Gardiner is Professor of Philosophy and Ben Rabinowitz Endowed Professor of the Human Dimensions of the Environment at the University of Washington, Seattle. He is the author of A Perfect Moral Storm (Oxford, 2011), editor of Virtue Ethics, Old and New (Cornell, 2005), and co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Environmental Ethics (Oxford, in press) and Climate Ethics: Essential Readings (Oxford, 2010). His research focuses on global environmental problems, future generations and virtue ethics.David A. Weisbach is the Walter J Blum Professor at the University of Chicago Law School and Senior Fellow at the University of Chicago Computation Institute and Argonne National Laboratories. Weisbach's research primarily focuses on issues related to taxation and on policy aspects of climate change.Weisbach received his BS in Mathematics from the University of Michigan in 1985; a Masters in Advance Study (Mathematics) from Wolfson College, Cambridge in 1986; and a JD from Harvard Law School in 1989. After graduating from law school, Weisbach clerked for Judge Joel M. Flaum of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and worked as an associate in the law firm of Miller & Chevalier. In 1992, Weisbach joined the Department of Treasury where he worked as an attorney-advisor in the Office of the Tax Legislative Counsel and, subsequently, as associate tax legislative counsel. In 1996, Weisbach was appointed Associate Professor of Law at Georgetown Law Center and joined the Chicago faculty in 1998.

One of the most refreshing aspects of Gardiner and Weisbach's contribution to this debate is that both of them--Gardiner a philosopher, Weisbach an economist--think that rapid decarbonization must be the paramount aim of climate policythis is an extremely valuable book and I recommend it warmly. Both authors display an admirable tenacity, courage, forbearance, and intelligence. Their debate marks a significant advance in our attempts to grapple with this most serious of issues.

• Part I By Stephen M. Gardiner1. How Will We be Remembered?2. Betraying the Future3. Who Are We and What Do We Want?4. Justice vs. Extortion Part II By David A. Weisbach5. Introduction to Part II6. Climate Policy and Self-Interest7. The Role of Claims of Justice in Climate Change Policy8. Summing Up Part III Responses9. 'The Feasible is Political'10. Weisbach Responds to Gardiner