Projects per year
Abstract
To explore the emerging and contested issue of business and human rights in the area of climate change, this article provides a critical discussion from the view-point of moral philosophy. A novel typology of businesses’ human rights duties (’duty’ is considered synonymous with ‘responsibility’ here) is proposed. It claims that duties are both forward- and backward-looking. Cases of human rights litigation seeking remedy for climate-related harms are backward-looking, and duties should be determined on the basis of proportion of historical emissions, culpable knowledge and counter-acts to abate climate harms. Businesses’ forward-looking duties, however, depend on their power, privilege, interest and collective abilities. The typology is then assessed against the background of recent legal principles and instruments.
It is concluded that moral duties of business reach beyond mere respect for human rights and national jurisdictions in the context of climate change.
It is concluded that moral duties of business reach beyond mere respect for human rights and national jurisdictions in the context of climate change.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Business and Human Rights Journal |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 1 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-27 |
Number of pages | 27 |
ISSN | 2057-0198 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2020 |
Keywords
- climate justice
- corporate duties
- corporate citizenship
- historical responsibility
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Climate Change as a Business and Human Rights Issue: A Proposal for a Moral Typology'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Ethics and energy. The role of ethics in energy policy and planning since the 1960s – with a special focus on the Danish energy sector's transition towards sustainability
Arler, F., Rüdiger, M., Poulsen, B., Toft, K. H., Sperling, K. & Erlenbach, S. H. W.
01/09/2014 → 30/06/2019
Project: Research
Activities
- 1 Conference presentations
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Climate change as a business and human rights responsibility - A proposal for a moral typology
Kristian Høyer Toft (Lecturer)
26 Sept 2019Activity: Talks and presentations › Conference presentations