STATENS ANSVAR FÖR HISTORISKA UTSLÄPP AV VÄXTHUSGASER En normativ analys av analogin mellan slaveri och gamla utsläpp

Abstract

This essay seeks to provide an answer to the subject of the state’s responsibility for historical emissions of greenhouse gases. This is done through a normative analysis of the analogy between slavery and “old” emissions. In this essay, I take the assumption that states sometimes are responsible for things that happen on their land. Afterwards I evaluate an argument based on two premises. The first says that the state has responsibility for historical injustices like slavery. The second premise says that the state’s responsibility for slavery is equally relevant to the state’s responsibility for old emissions. I argue that both premises are true, and that the state therefore is responsible for old emissions. This is based on the intuition that its fair that the state is responsible for things like slavery and need to compensate for this. I further argue that reparations for slavery and old emissions implicate ethical collectivism, and that the state is the only agent that can provide victims with the reparations needed. At last, the result shows how a backward-looking principle like the polluter pays principle can be interpreted in a collective way.