Abstract

Effectively addressing climate change has proven to be intractable, even as the impacts of increased climate variability have become more prominent. In this paper, I consider the existence of individual moral obligations regarding climate change. Through an engagement with Walter-Sinnott-Armstrong and Avram Hiller’s debate concerning the moral significance of individual level GHG emissions, I diagnose a fit problem that exists in the application of our ordinary ways of thinking about individual moral obligations to the ethical challenges of climate change. In light of this fit problem, I argue that the question of individual moral obligations concerning climate change should be preceded by an analysis of the nature of climate change as a moral problem. I argue that, given certain features, climate change is a matter of social justice and suggest that models of shared responsibility offer a path forward for articulating individual obligations in this context.