Abstract
A fundamental theme running through the remarkable 192-page Papal Encyclical on Climate Change is the notion of solidarity—;between nations and peoples, and between and within generations. In the words of the Encyclical, “[w]e require a new and universal solidarity.”. This translates, in the Encyclical’s vision, into principled cooperation between states and peoples, because “[a]ll of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.”. In the international climate change regime this vision takes the form of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDRRC), a principle that the Encyclical explicitly endorses. The CBDRRC principle, however, lends itself to varying interpretations and has thus proven deeply contentious as the basis for climate cooperation. This is in particular in relation to the 2015 climate agreement that is due to be finalized in Paris in December 2015. This short essay explores the extent to which the Encyclical supports one or the other interpretation of this principle, and how closely aligned (or not) the Encyclical’s vision is to the emerging 2015 climate change agreement.
Highlights
A fundamental theme running through the remarkable 192-page Papal Encyclical on Climate Change is the notion of solidarity—between nations and peoples, and between and within generations
In the words of the Encyclical, “[w]e require a new and universal solidarity.”[1]. This translates, in the Encyclical’s vision, into principled cooperation between states and peoples, because “[a]ll of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.”[2]. In the international climate change regime[3] this vision takes the form of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDRRC),[4] a principle that the Encyclical explicitly endorses.[5]
The Papal Encyclical endorses both these intuitions at the heart of the CBDRRC principle. It characterizes the climate as a “common good,”[13] and urges all states and peoples to “regain the conviction” that “we have a shared responsibility for others and the world.”[14]. It cites approvingly the view of the bishops of Bolivia that, “the countries which have benefited from a high degree of industrialization, at the cost of enormous emissions of greenhouse gases, have a greater responsibility for providing a solution to the problems they have caused.”[15]. In so doing, it favors one particular interpretation of the principle of CBDRRC, namely that differentiated responsibility for climate change can be sourced to differing contributions to global environmental harm, rather than solely to differing capacities of states
Summary
A fundamental theme running through the remarkable 192-page Papal Encyclical on Climate Change is the notion of solidarity—between nations and peoples, and between and within generations. In the words of the Encyclical, “[w]e require a new and universal solidarity.”[1] This translates, in the Encyclical’s vision, into principled cooperation between states and peoples, because “[a]ll of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.”[2] In the international climate change regime[3] this vision takes the form of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDRRC),[4] a principle that the Encyclical explicitly endorses.[5] The CBDRRC principle, lends itself to varying interpretations and has proven deeply contentious as the basis for climate cooperation. This short essay explores the extent to which the Encyclical supports one or the other interpretation of this principle, and how closely aligned (or not) the Encyclical’s vision is to the emerging 2015 climate change agreement
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