Sharing the Burden of Saving the Planet: Global Social Justice for Sustainable Development Lessons from the Theory of Public Finance*

The risks of climate change resulting from the increase in atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases have been well-documented. There are likely to be especially adverse effects on developing countries and particularly the poor within these countries. There is a global consensus that strong actions need to be taken to ensure that the world does not face excessive risk from an increase in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases that would, say, lead to an increase in average global temperatures of more than 2 degrees Celsius. . This chapter is concerned with how the global community should respond to this global risk and in particular how the burden of preventing global warming—or more accurately, reducing the