Climate Change and Growth
Many philosophers believe that we owe it to future generations to prevent significant anthropogenic climate change, and yet do not think that we owe them the benefits of a growing economy. The problem with this view is that under all of the most probable scenarios, the benefits that we could be providing to future generations through ongoing economic growth are enormous, relative to the costs that will be imposed upon them by climate change. As a result, if we are under no obligation to maximize growth—indeed, if we are permitted to pass along to future generations an economy that will permit them to achieve a standard of living no greater than what we enjoy now—then by far the least costly course of action for us is to let climate change occur, then compensate future generations for the impact by making resources available to them to cover the costs of adaptation.