Climate Change and Reversed Intergenerational Equity. The Problem of Costs Now, for Benefits Later

SUMMARY This article explores the manner in which climate action at the African regional level protects and promotes children's rights with considerations being had to the principle of intergenerational equity. It establishes that while the concept of intergenerational equity is entrenched in the international and African regional climate change framework for the protection of children, neither the Convention on the Rights of the Child nor the African Children's Charter mentions the concept. However, CRC and the African Children's Charter oblige states to take into consideration the views of children and protect their best interests in climate action (to ensure intergenerational equity) and in achieving a sustainable future. Using a doctrinal research method, the article examines the regional legal and institutional responses to the cascading impacts of climate change and how they safeguard children's rights to a sustainable future. It proceeds to critically analyse child rights-responsive provisions in the African Children's Charter that could potentially enhance the utility of the principle of intergenerational equity in the context of climate action in Africa. The article argues that the principle of intergenerational equity could, in theory, be used as a useful tool for the protection and promotion of the rights and interests of children from climate change impacts. Key words: children's rights; climate change; climate justice; future generations; intergenerational equity

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Integrated Assessments of Climate Change Policy: Intergenerational Equity and Discounting

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.200612 ◽

2000 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ferenc L. Toth

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Policy ◽

Intergenerational Equity ◽

Change Policy ◽

Integrated Assessments

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Intergenerational equity can help to prevent climate change and extinction

Nature Ecology & Evolution ◽

10.1038/s41559-018-0465-y ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 204-207 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Adrian Treves ◽

Kyle A. Artelle ◽

Chris T. Darimont ◽

William S. Lynn ◽

Paul Paquet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Intergenerational Equity

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Climate Change and Inequity: How to Think about Inequities in Different Dimensions

10.1093/oso/9780198813248.003.0005 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Nicole Hassoun ◽

Anders Herlitz

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Intergenerational Equity ◽

International Negotiations ◽

Climate Justice ◽

Climate Negotiations ◽

The World ◽

Different Dimensions ◽

New Framework ◽

Justice Climate

This chapter introduces a new framework for thinking about climate justice. Climate change and climate negotiations actualize equity considerations in at least three relevant dimensions: distributions of benefits and burdens across countries, within countries, and across individuals in the world. Our proposed framework enables researchers and policymakers to visualize and combine different equity considerations in these dimensions in a novel way. The simplicity of the framework can facilitate putting equity considerations back on the table in international negotiations. The flexibility of the framework enables expansions and incorporations of other equity considerations, for example intergenerational equity.

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Climate Change and Reversed Intergenerational Equity: the Problem of Costs Now, for Benefits Later

Climate Law ◽

10.1163/18786561-10030002 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3-4) ◽

pp. 266-281

Author(s):

Gareth Davies

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Intergenerational Equity ◽

Future Generations ◽

Policy Problem ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

The Future ◽

Policy Challenge ◽

Mitigation Costs ◽

The Cost

Abstract Climate change is often seen as an issue of intergenerational equity—consumption now creates costs for future generations. However, radical mitigation now would reverse the problem, creating immediate costs for current generations, while the benefits would be primarily for future ones. This is a policy problem, as persuading those living now to bear the cost of changes whose benefits will mostly accrue after their deaths is politically difficult. The policy challenge is then how to temporally match costs to benefits, either by deferring mitigation costs, or by speeding up climatic benefits. Geoengineering may provide some help here, as it might enable climate change to be slowed more immediately, at a lower upfront cost, and allow a greater share of the mitigation and adaptation burden to be passed on to those in the future who will benefit most.

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