Intergenerational Injustice Research Articles

Assessing "dangerous climate change": required reduction of carbon emissions to protect young people, future generations and nature.

We assess climate impacts of global warming using ongoing observations and paleoclimate data. We use Earth’s measured energy imbalance, paleoclimate data, and simple representations of the global carbon cycle and temperature to define emission reductions needed to stabilize climate and avoid potentially disastrous impacts on today’s young people, future generations, and nature. A cumulative industrial-era limit of ∼500 GtC fossil fuel emissions and 100 GtC storage in the biosphere and soil would keep climate close to the Holocene range to which humanity and other species are adapted. Cumulative emissions of ∼1000 GtC, sometimes associated with 2°C global warming, would spur “slow” feedbacks and eventual warming of 3–4°C with disastrous consequences. Rapid emissions reduction is required to restore Earth’s energy balance and avoid ocean heat uptake that would practically guarantee irreversible effects. Continuation of high fossil fuel emissions, given current knowledge of the consequences, would be an act of extraordinary witting intergenerational injustice. Responsible policymaking requires a rising price on carbon emissions that would preclude emissions from most remaining coal and unconventional fossil fuels and phase down emissions from conventional fossil fuels.

Natural Resources, Intergenerational Injustice, Environmental Degradation, Water Pollution and the Right to Healthcare

The extraction of and trade in natural resources, if not well regulated, impact on the ability of current generation to provide future generations with the same options, access and quality resources that they received from previous generations. They contribute to the degradation of the environment (New Zealand catastrophe 2011), pollute water (Acid Mine Drainage) and violate the right to water and sanitation and the right to healthcare. This paper focuses on recent cases of water pollution and environmental degradation as result of extraction of and trade in natural resources. It submits that the lack of adequate rules both at the national and international levels and the lack of political will diminish the capacity of current generation to meet their sustainable development objective and to respect their intergenerational obligations. The paper goes further to argue that corruption in environmental policy-making impedes the implementation of environmental friendly policies. It concludes with number of recommendations and good practices.

Militarism, Environment and Women’s Health

Militarism contributes to intergenerational injustice. It destroys the environment, depletes our natural resources and destroys human kind. Militarism, through environmental destruction, contributes to the violation of some basic rights including the right to healthcare. This paper goes from the assumption that whenever human health is affected, women suffer more. This is because they are biologically more vulnerable than men and also because of their household and child bearing responsibilities.

Intergenerational Justice Perceptions and the Role of Welfare Regimes

This study analyzes intergenerational justice perceptions among 2,075 undergraduate students in 1996-1998 across eight democracies spanning four welfare regime types. It examined how different regimes structure perceptions of (a) justness in principle of young-to-old public resource transfers and (b) actual contributions to and rewards from society of various age groups. Support in principle of young-to-old transfers is higher in social democratic and conservative than in liberal and radical welfare regimes and correlates positively with a welfare-statist ideological frame and negatively with a market-based frame. Regarding actual contributions to society, the following ordering of age groups was obtained: adults > youth > elderly. Regarding actual rewards, the ranking was adults > elderly ≥ youth. But in the conservative regime, the youngest age group ranked lowest in perceived rewards and highest in perceived contributions. It was concluded that there is a distinct perception of intergenerational injustice among these populations of highly educated young citizens.