The Paris Agreement (eBook)

Climate Change, Solidarity, and Human Rights

Judith Blau (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2017 | 1. Auflage
128 Seiten
Palgrave Macmillan (Verlag)
978-3-319-53541-8 (ISBN)

Infos

This book discusses the immediate and severe threat posed by global climate change and the various obstacles that stand in the way of action. Judith Blau presents scientific evidence relevant to The Paris Agreement (COP-21): an international treaty that promises to strengthen the global response to climate change. As she reckons with the dangers of catastrophic planetary heating, Blau discusses the clash between the deeply ingrained American tradition of individualism and the collective action and acknowledgement of intertwined fate needed to address climate change.  She acknowledges that America's capitalist bent stands in contrast to the idea of the 'commons'-a concept that we need to embrace if climate change is to be mitigated. The volume also explains the foundations of international human rights standards as they relate to climate change. Drawing from guiding principles of human rights and equality, the book concludes hopefully-suggesting that the people of the world can meet the challenge posed by climate change by at once acknowledging shared humanity and celebrating difference. 

Judith Blau is Professor Emerita, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. She also served as President of the Southern Sociological Society, and is Founder and Director of the Human Rights Center of Chapel Hill & Carrboro.

Inhalt

The Paris Agreement 3
Preface 6
Notes 10
Acknowledgments 11
Contents 12
List of Boxes 13
1 Why Solidarity? 14
Equality and Difference 15
What’s at Stake? 17
Democratizing Information and Knowledge 19
The Thesis 20
New Challenges 21
Conclusions 22
Notes 22
2 The Warming of the Planet 25
More Precisely, in America 33
Notes 34
3 The Long, Long Road to Paris 35
Conference of the Parties (COP) 38
The Celebration 40
The Breakthrough (and Opposition) 41
Notes 42
4 The Puzzle 44
Greenhouse Gases 46
Who Put It There? 47
Surveys of Americans 49
Conclusions 52
Notes 53
5 The Paradox of American Exceptionalism 56
The Correlates of Individualism 57
Individualism in Practice 58
Indications of American Exceptionalism 59
The U.S. Bill of Rights 60
The Dangers of Polarization 64
Conclusions: Why Be So Hard on Americans? 65
Notes 65
6 Human Rights 68
Vulnerable Persons and Climate Change 79
Do People Cooperate or Compete? 82
Conclusions 83
Notes 83
7 Environmental Rights 85
The Environment: Treaties and Constitutions 86
Economic Models of the Environment 91
Conclusions 91
Notes 92
8 The Context of Paris: The MDGs and the SDGs 95
The Relationships Between the SDGs and the Paris Agreement 101
What Is the Conclusion? 103
Notes 103
9 The Global and Local Movements to Slow Global Warming 105
International Response to Climate Change 106
Unprecedented Agreement 106
Goals, Plans, and Actions Ricochet Around the World 107
Countries Most at Risk 107
Common, but Differentiated Responsibilities 109
Popular Movements 109
Divestment Campaigns 111
Keep It in the Ground Campaigns 111
Conclusion 112
Notes 113
10 Solidarity Matters 116
International Solidarity 118
Language 119
Economic Inequality and Racial Disparities 119
Solidarity and Human Rights 120
Human Rights and Climate Change 121
Notes 122
Index 124

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 21.3.2017
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Staat / Verwaltung
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• ISBN-10: 3-319-53541-2 / 3319535412
• ISBN-13: 978-3-319-53541-8 / 9783319535418