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Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 37864

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Felix Ekardt

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Law and Interdisciplinary Faculty, University of Rostock, 18051 Rostock, Germany
Interests: sustainability/environmental policy; global, European, national and regional governance; process of transformation and social learning towards more sustainability; theory of justice/human rights on an international, European and national level; legal issues in sustainability law, environmental law, economic law, constitutional law, European law and international law
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Prof. Dr. Anita Engels

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Guest Editor

Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Interests: climate social science, humanities, climate ethics, climate law, climate governance, fossil fuels, Paris Agreement, behavioural change

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability, i.e., the demand for long-term and globally practicable lifestyles and economies, is increasingly being understood as the central challenge of our time. This is especially true with regard to climate change. Undoubtedly, natural scientific and technical knowledge of problem relationships in dealing with nature, resources, and climate is important. However, technical change does not happen on its own. In addition, the ecological challenges are simply too great not to aim for a behavioral change, including structural change as well as technology, given the—legally binding—1.5 degrees limit in Article 2 of the Paris Agreement that may require global zero emissions in all sectors in two or three decades. This is the starting point of this Special Issue on climate change and human reaction. We want to investigate, for example, the conditions for individual and social change, the means or governance instruments for zero fossil fuels in all sectors and drastically reduced livestock emissions in 2040 or 2050, as well as normative (ethical and legal) issues. Transdisciplinary approaches should play a special role, i.e., approaches that do not operate from disciplinary boundaries but from questions of content without excessive subordination to established disciplinary dogmas. It is important to the guest editors that the Special Issue stands for pluralism and expressly gives room to uncomfortable, unexpected, and heterodox views and methods. We invite qualitative as well as quantitative studies that adhere to high quality standards and provide plausible justifications of their methodological choices and study design.

Prof. Dr. Felix Ekardt
Prof. Dr. Anita Engels
Guest Editors

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Keywords

climate social science
humanities
climate ethics
climate law
climate governance
fossil fuels
Paris Agreement
behavioral change

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 363 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy Charter Treaty: Towards a New Interpretation in the Light of Paris Agreement and Human Rights

by Felix Ekardt, Paula Roos, Marie Bärenwaldt and Lea Nesselhauf

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5006; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065006 - 11 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2965

Abstract

In addition to climate change, the current war in Ukraine has highlighted the urgency of a rapid transformation to post-fossility. This paper analyses the much-lamented negative climate policy and energy transition impacts of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) in international law, a treaty that serves as a basis for the compensation claims of fossil fuel companies in response to losses incurred because of climate policy measures. Methodologically, a legal interpretation is conducted, i.e., the ECT is interpreted grammatically and systematically. It is shown that, with a revised legal interpretation of the ECT, such claims usually cannot be upheld at all, except in the case of direct expropriations. This is further underlined by a legal interpretation of the ECT based on the Paris Agreement and on international human rights law. The arbitral ECT tribunals would therefore have to dismiss claims and if they do not do so then, for example, EU member states could take action against such verdicts of the arbitral tribunals before the ECJ. Even if all of this was to be disputed, there are also considerable possibilities for the contracting states to subsequently exclude claims for compensation. Nevertheless, there are a lot of arguments in favour of a comprehensive reform of the treaty. However, to do so as currently planned, with transitional periods, is not sufficient. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law)

23 pages, 2149 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Development and Validation of a Scale to Assess Moral Disengagement in High-Carbon Behavior

by Susanne Stoll-Kleemann, Philipp Franikowski and Susanne Nicolai

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2054; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032054 - 21 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1819

Abstract

The reduction of individual carbon consumption could make an important contribution to the worldwide effort to limit global warming. Based on Bandura’s theory of moral disengagement, we hypothesized that the propensity to morally disengage concerning high-carbon behaviors (e.g., eating meat or traveling by plane) is one important factor that prevents individuals from reducing their carbon footprint. To measure the propensity to morally disengage in high-carbon-related behavior contexts, a questionnaire (MD-HCB) was developed and psychometrically validated in an online study with a German sample (N = 220). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the final nine-item scale had a one-dimensional structure, as intended. The internal consistency of the scale was excellent (Cronbach’s α = 0.94) and the scale interpretation had predictive validity for both past low-carbon consumption behavior and the intention to engage in such behavior in the future. Correlational analyses with relevant existing instruments confirmed the construct validity of the interpretations that can be drawn from the MD-HCB, as its resulting score is related to, yet separable from, the general tendency to morally disengage and is meaningfully connected to related constructs. A pre-study with a student sample (N = 89) not only helped to identify limitations in the study design but also showed a weak predictive ability of moral competence concerning high-carbon consumption behavior and intention to change. Based on our findings, future media campaigns designed to increase people’s intention to reduce high-carbon behavior could focus on the modification of common cognitive disengagement strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law)

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20 pages, 704 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Significance of Governance Indicators to Achieve Carbon Neutrality: A New Insight of Life Expectancy

by Ghazala Aziz, Rida Waheed, Suleman Sarwar and Mohd Saeed Khan

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 766; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010766 - 31 Dec 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1533

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of life expectancy on carbon emission, in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, we examined the role of governance to achieve carbon neutrality status. We used the novel dynamic ARDL technique for estimations. This is one of the pioneer studies that analyze the role of life expectancy to control carbon emissions. The coefficients of life expectancy, education, and political stability are significantly negative. On contrary, governance effectiveness is an obstacle to achieving carbon neutrality. Empirical findings of life expectancy and governance effectiveness are quite surprising. In terms of Vision 2030 estimations, the coefficient of corruption control is significant and negative, indicating that the Saudi government has prioritized corruption control. While governance effectiveness remains positive, the Saudi government still requires governance reforms in order to achieve carbon neutrality goals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law)

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26 pages, 970 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potentials and Limitations of Subsidies in Sustainability Governance: The Example of Agriculture

by Katharine Heyl, Felix Ekardt, Lennard Sund and Paula Roos

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15859; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315859 - 28 Nov 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5453

Abstract

The goals of the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity call for a global transition to sustainability. To achieve these goals, subsidies can be implemented. Subsidies are pervasive especially (but not only) in the agricultural sector. The agricultural sector plays an important role in the transition to sustainability as agriculture can both benefit and harm climate and biodiversity. Some agricultural subsidies seem environmentally beneficial, but the majority appear environmentally destructive. Against this background, this article applies a qualitative governance analysis—including aspects of legal analysis—to provide a comprehensive review of agricultural subsidies in the EU and to discuss the role of subsidies in transitioning towards sustainability. Results show that agricultural subsidies need to be substantially downscaled and implemented as complementary instruments only because other policy instruments such as quantity control instruments are more effective in addressing the drivers of non-sustainability, i.e., fossil fuels and livestock farming. However, subsidies remain a useful complementary instrument to remunerate the provision of public goods (e.g., in nature conservation) as long as they are constructed in a way that they do not suffer from typical governance problems. In addition, data and transparency need to be improved, subsidies for research and development increased, and environmental objectives streamlined through EU law to ensure all agricultural subsidies are in line with global environmental goals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law)

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23 pages, 1576 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thinking Urban Transformation through Elsewhere: A Conversation between Real-World Labs in São Paulo and Hamburg on Governance and Practical Action

by Martin Kohler, Anita Engels, Ana Paula Koury and Cathrin Zengerling

Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12811; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212811 - 19 Nov 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2429

Abstract

Urban real-world laboratories (RWLs) are increasingly used internationally and studied as an instrument of urban transformation. New cases in diverse political, economic, social and ecological situations offer a rich set of learning experiences, but the distinctive urban contexts make it impossible to draw comparisons in the traditional sense. In this article—an experiment in itself—we aim to gain a deeper understanding of how RWLs contribute to urban transformation in very different contexts. We apply Jennifer Robinson’s theoretical framework “thinking through elsewhere” on two ongoing urban RWLs: the Itaim Paulista Lab, located in the urban periphery of São Paulo, Brazil and the Lokstedt Urban Transformation Lab in Hamburg, Germany. We operationalize Robinson’s framework in two steps. First, we present the genetics—context, roots, concepts and activities—of both labs. Second, we engage the RWLs in a generative conversation on their role in transforming governance and practical action, with a special focus on the questions of if and how the labs contribute to long-term transformative change. We also find that both labs show potential to contribute to long-term transformative change through governance and practical action. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law)

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18 pages, 296 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Collective Responsibility in the Cooperative Governance of Climate Change

by Alessandro Piazza

Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4363; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084363 - 14 Apr 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2968

Abstract

This paper sets out a proposal for framing collective responsibility as a central element within the cooperative governance of climate change. It begins by reconstructing the analysis of climate change as a Tragedy of the Commons in the economic literature and as a Problem of Many Hands in the ethical literature. Both formalizations are shown to represent dilemmatic situations where an individual has no rational incentive to prevent the climate crisis and no moral requirement to be held responsible for contributing to it. Traditionally both dilemmas have been thought to be solvable only through a vertical structure of decision-making. Where contemporary research in political economy has undergone a “governance revolution”, showing how horizontal networks of public, private, and civil society actors can play an important role in the management of the climate crisis, little research has been carried out in the ethical field on how to secure accountability and responsibility within such a cooperative structure of social agency. Therefore, this paper contributes by individuating some conditions for designing responsible and accountable governance processes in the management of climate change. It concludes by claiming that climate change is addressable only insofar as we transition from a morality based on individual responsibility to a new conception of morality based on our co-responsibility for preventing the climate crisis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law)

22 pages, 810 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Stories: Managing Climate Change with Literature

by Gesa Mackenthun

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 4049; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13074049 - 06 Apr 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4433

Abstract

Literary and cultural texts are essential in shaping emotional and intellectual dispositions toward the human potential for a sustainable transformation of society. Due to its appeal to the human imagination and human empathy, literature can enable readers for sophisticated understandings of social and ecological justice. An overabundance of catastrophic near future scenarios largely prevents imagining the necessary transition toward a socially responsible and ecologically mindful future as a non-violent and non-disastrous process. The paper argues that transition stories that narrate the rebuilding of the world in the midst of crisis are much better instruments in bringing about a human “mindshift” (Göpel) than disaster stories. Transition stories, among them the Parable novels by Octavia Butler and Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future (2020), offer feasible ideas about how to orchestrate economic and social change. The analysis of recent American, Canadian, British, and German near future novels—both adult and young adult fictions—sheds light on those aspects best suited for effecting behavioral change in recipients’ minds: exemplary ecologically sustainable characters and actions, companion quests, cooperative communities, sources of epistemological innovation and spiritual resilience, and an ethics and aesthetics of repair. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law)

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19 pages, 324 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Challenging the Levels: The Catholic Church as a Multi-Level Actor in the Transition to a Climate-Compatible Society

by Jochen Ostheimer and Julia Blanc

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3770; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073770 - 29 Mar 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2040

Abstract

Climate compatibility is a cornerstone in the ecological transformation of modern society. In order to achieve sustainable development in all areas of society, numerous social actors must participate. This article examines the potential for the Catholic Church in German-speaking countries to contribute to such change. To this end, in contrast to most current studies, the Church is conceptualized as a multi-level actor instead of focusing only on the top of the hierarchy. Case studies are used to explore how various Church actors in different fields of social action evoke ecological awareness among members and non-members alike or participate in changing social structures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law)

29 pages, 2948 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Information about Personal Emissions of Carbon Dioxide Improve Individual Environmental Friendliness? A Survey Experiment

by Hideki Yamashita, Shinsuke Kyoi and Koichiro Mori

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2284; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042284 - 20 Feb 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2392

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify factors that can change the environmental friendliness of individuals in the context of climate change issues in terms of values, beliefs, controllability, concern, attitude, intention, and behavior through a survey experiment, and to test the hypothesis that providing information about the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions attributable to an individual with its threshold value motivates him/her to reduce that amount using statistical analyses (the Mann–Whitney test) and multivariate regressions (the ordered logit model). It is crucial to change the behavior of individuals as well as organizations to reduce the emissions of CO₂ for solving climate change issues, because the aggregate amount of individual CO₂ emissions is too large to ignore. We conducted a survey experiment to detect factors affecting the environmental friendliness of individuals. Subjects of the experiment were 102 students at Shiga University in Japan. They were randomly provided with communication opportunities, information about individual or group CO₂ emissions, and information about their threshold value. The finding is that provision of information about the amount of individual and group CO₂ emissions may be able to improve that person’s environmental friendliness in terms of values, beliefs, concern, attitude, intention, and behavior. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law)

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23 pages, 396 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Human Rights and Precautionary Principle: Limits to Geoengineering, SRM, and IPCC Scenarios

by Jutta Wieding, Jessica Stubenrauch and Felix Ekardt

Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8858; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218858 - 25 Oct 2020

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 7229

Abstract

: Most scenarios on instruments limiting global warming in line with the 1.5 °C temperature limit of the Paris Agreement rely on overshooting the emissions threshold, thus requiring the application of negative emission technologies later on. Subsequently, the debate on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and solar radiation management (SRM) (frequently subsumed under “geoengineering”) has been reinforced. Yet, it does not determine normatively whether those are legally valid approaches to climate protection. After taking a closer look at the scope of climate scenarios and SRM methods compiling current research and opinions on SRM, this paper analyses the feasibility of geoengineering and of SRM in particular under international law. It will be shown that from the perspective of human rights, the Paris Agreement, and precautionary principle the phasing-out of fossil fuels and the reduction in consumption of livestock products as well as nature-based approaches such as sustainable—and thus climate and biodiversity-smart—forest, peatland, and agricultural management strongly prevail before geoengineering and atmospheric SRM measures in particular. However, as all of the atmospheric SRM methods are in their development phase, governance options to effectively frame further exploration of SRM technologies are proposed, maintaining that respective technologies thus far are not a viable means of climate protection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law)

16 pages, 551 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influencing Factors of Public Participation in Meteorological Disaster Prevention and Mitigation

by Rongrong Duan, Jun Liu, Changkai Wang and Guo Wei

Sustainability 2020, 12(8), 3108; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083108 - 13 Apr 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2521

Abstract

Meteorological disasters have become a global challenge due to the increased prevalence and severity, and China is among the most affected countries. In this paper, based on a randomized survey in China, the authors employed a structural equation model to study the influencing factors of public participation in meteorological disaster prevention and mitigation (MDPM). It is found that the behavior of the government has a significant positive influence, with an influencing coefficient of 0.494 on the public’s willingness to participate in MDPM. The degree of community involvement also has a significant positive influence on the public’s willingness, with an influencing coefficient of 0.636. The public’s attention to meteorological events and ability to participate have less impact on their participation in MDPM, with coefficients of 0.057 and 0.075, respectively. The information acquisition has a significant negative impact, with an influencing coefficient of −0.084. There is a strong positive covariation between community participation and governmental behavior, with a covariance coefficient of 0.27, indicating that the two factors promote each other and together boost the public’s willingness to participate in MDPM. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Human Reaction: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law)

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