First, do no harm? an overview and ethical evaluation of South Africa’s climate change mitigation commitments in light of the Paris Agreement
Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Medknow Publications
Abstract
South Africa ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 and thereby committed to reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) concentration levels as part of its self-determined goals in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). This article
viewed the targets in the NDC through an ethical lens. It was demonstrated that the commitment below the ‘business-asusual’ (BAU) level allowed for large increases in South Africa’s emissions without explaining how these were consistent with a specific understanding of what equity required. Also, the NDC
targets were found to be highly insufficient. Consequently, South Africa’s climate change mitigation commitments were deemed inconsistent with the ethical ‘no-harm’ principle.
Description
CITATION: Steenkamp, L. A. & Naude, P. 2018. First, do no harm? an overview and ethical evaluation of South Africa’s climate change mitigation commitments in light of the Paris Agreement. African Journal of Business Ethics, 12(2):70‑84, doi:10.15249/12-2-179.
The original publication is available at http://ajobe.journals.ac.za
The original publication is available at http://ajobe.journals.ac.za
Keywords
Climate change mitigation -- South Africa -- Moral and ethical aspects, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992 May 9). Protocols, etc. (2015 December 12), Paris Agreement
Citation
Steenkamp, L. A. & Naude, P. 2018. First, do no harm? an overview and ethical evaluation of South Africa’s climate change mitigation commitments in light of the Paris Agreement. African Journal of Business Ethics, 12(2):70‑84, doi:10.15249/12-2-179