氣候變遷治理中的正義與民主

作者：Steve Vaderheiden（美國科羅拉多大學博德校區教授）

摘要：

人類引起的氣候變遷帶來的諸多挑戰中，包含了正義與民主相關議題；其中涉及到環境問題會如何影響人類的社會與經濟體系，各個國家與國際社會如何因應以緩和這些問題等。氣候變遷難以解決，最弱勢的族群因此受到最不正義的傷害，這些都使不符正義的不平等更加嚴峻；但另一個角度來看，我們推出的因應方案也可能正義，也可能不正義，是以需盡全力以防範後者發生。若從民主的角度來看也是如此。倘若未能適當地面對氣候變遷，就有可能加深匱乏的情形；無論新興、或老牌民主國家，都可能因此受害；此外，如果能在民主的理念與原則之下合作，共同控制氣候變遷的程度，就有可能保障多數人的利益。我認為我們可以從人權的角度切入，為上述議題加以理論化；如此一來，人類利益既可在安全與永續的環境中獲得保障，也因為在社會、經濟重要政策中保有人民自決與大眾參與的權利而受惠；這樣的理論，將在共同的層面上連結正義與民主的要求。所以，在本文中，我將以國內與國際層次的氣候變遷治理為脈絡，檢視數個相關的正義與民主議題，並指出這些議題在人權架構中的適當位置。

關鍵字
正義、民主、人權、氣候變遷治理

Justice and Democracy in Climate Change Governance

Author：Steve Vaderheiden (Professor, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA)

Abstract：

Among the challenges posed by human-caused climate change are issues of justice and democracy, in how the environmental problem is expected to affect human social and economic systems and in the response taken by states and the international community to mitigate the problem. While unmitigated climate change unjustly harms the most vulnerable and widens existing unjust inequalities, programs to mitigate climate change can also be just or unjust, and so must take pains to avoid the latter. Likewise with democracy, as the failure to adequately respond to climate change may intensify scarcity and in so doing undermine new or established democracies, and cooperative efforts to control climate change are likely to be more responsive to the interests of the many if they are informed by democratic ideals and principles. Both sets of issues can constructively be theorized in terms of human rights, which seek to guarantee human interests in a safe and sustainable environment as well as those to self-determination and popular participation in major decisions that shape social and economic life, and which help to link the demands of justice and democracy in common cause. Here, I shall examine several such issues of justice and democracy, in the contexts of both domestic and international climate change governance, grounding these imperatives where appropriate in a human rights framework.

Keywords

justice, democracy, human rights, climate change governance

全文下載