Dislocated interests and climate change

Abstract

The predicted effects of climate change on surface temperatures are now emergent and quantifiable. The recent letter by Hansen and Sato (2016 Environ. Res. Lett. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/3/034009 11 http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/3/034009 ) adds to a growing number of studies showing that warming over the past four decades has shifted the distribution of temperatures higher almost everywhere, with the largest relative effects on summer temperatures in developing regions such as Africa, South America, southeast Asia, and the Middle East (e.g., Diffenbaugh and Scherer 2011 Clim. Change http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0112-y 107 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0112-y ; Anderson 2011 Clim. Change http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0196-4 108 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0196-4 ; Mahlstein et al 2012 Geophys. Res. Lett. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012GL053952 39 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012GL053952 ). Hansen and Sato emphasize that although these regions are warming disproportionately, their role in causing climate change—measured by cumulative historical CO _2 emissions produced—is small compared to the US and Europe, where the relative change in temperatures has been less. This spatial and temporal mismatch of climate change impacts and the burning of fossil fuels is a critical dislocation of interests that, as the authors note, has ‘substantial implications for global energy and climate policies.’ Here, we place Hansen and Sato’s ‘national responsibilities’ into a broader conceptual framework of problematically dislocated interests, and briefly discuss the related challenges for global climate mitigation efforts.

Keywords

• climate change
• responsibility
• commons dilemma
• equity
• economics
• fossil fuel emissions