Climate Change and Intergenerational Justice

A key challenge for the world community today is to decide whether this moment in the history of the Anthropocene will be one that tolerates deepening inequalities, resource destruction, widespread suffering and the erosion of the rule of law or, alternatively, will seize opportunities still available to redefine the present as the beginning of a new era of intergenerational justice and human rights solidarity. This book explores the viewpoints of those who insist upon pursuing the latter option, those who actively re-conceptualize the present moment of ecological crisis as a perceptible opening for the actualization of an alternative, more sustainable future. A starting point in this global movement for democratic change is the realization that the current rapid and extensive depletion of essential natural resources impacts negatively on the liberties, quality of life and future prospects of all. Younger generations, in particular, are called upon to reclaim their ecological heritage from those who do not seek their consent when jeopardizing its long-term availability and redefine the future as a project of democratic co-determination amongst all members of an extended commons. This book examines the various political, legal and social channels through which a new ‘generationally just’ model of societal development is actively explored today.

Tracey Skillington is a Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Sociology & Philosophy, University College Cork. She is the author of Climate Justice & Human Rights (2017) and Guest Editor of a special issue of the European Journal of Social Theory, titled "Perspectives on Climate Change" (8(3), 2015).