Ethics and Fairness

Ethics and Fairness

Prof. Alice KaswanUniversity of San Francisco School of Law

Conference on Carbon Politics and FinanceFordham UniversityOctober 29, 2010

Mapping Fairness Claims

• Among states• Among industries• Towards consumers• Towards vulnerable communities

Among States

Among Regulatory Targets

For Consumers

• Who pays?

• Who profits?

Climate Policy and Vulnerable Communities

Transformative vision: maximize social welfare

Climate Policy’s Equity Potential

• Environmental improvements for polluted communities

• Economic development opportunities for poor communities

Climate Policy’s Environmental Co-Benefits:Fossil Fuels and Air Pollution

Percentage of Major Co-Pollutants from Fossil Fuel Combustion

Source: J. Andrew Hoerner & Nia Robinson, A Climate of Change: African Americans, Global Warming, and a Just Climate Policy for the U.S. 13 (2008).

Fossil fuels, environmental justice, and the GHG and co-pollutant connection

Climate Policy’s Environmental Co-Benefits: California’s Estimates for 2020

Source: California Air Resources Board, Scoping Plan, Appendix H: Public Health Analysis H-36 (2008).

Policy Implications

• Promote renewable energy

• Limit the use of international and domestic offsets

• Target GHG reductions in the most polluted sectors or areas– Direct regulation– Trading limitations or incentives

Example: California’s Climate Law

Develop climate change regulations …

“in a manner that minimizes costs and maximizes benefits for California’s economy,

maximizes additional environmental and economic co-benefits for California,

and complements the state’s efforts to improve air quality.”

Cal. Health & Safety Code §385921(h)

Climate Policy’s Economic Co-Benefits in a Context of Existing Inequity

Climate Policy and Economic Opportunity

Van Jones:

“Today the ‘clean-tech’ revolution and the transformation of our aging energy infrastructure are poised to become the next great engines for American innovation, productivity and job growth, and social equity.”

Van Jones, The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems 180 (2008)

Climate Policy’s Economic Co-Benefits:Renewable Energy and Employment

Source: J. Andrew Hoerner & Nia Robinson, A Climate of Change: African Americans, Global Warming, and a Just Climate Policy for the U.S. 33 (2008)

Climate Policy’s Economic Co-Benefits:Alternative Energy Development

in Disadvantaged Areas

Winona LaDuke: “Alternative energy represents an amazing social and political reconstruction opportunity.”

(Winona LaDuke, Local Energy, Local Power, Yes Magazine (Winter 2007) (emphasis added))

Climate Policy’s Economic Co-Benefits:Urban Revitalization

Economic Co-Benefits:Climate Policy Implications

Integrated economic and environmental development programs

- Job training- Seed money- Project coordination and management resources

Example: California’s Climate Law

The state must, to the extent feasible,

“direct public and private investment toward the most disadvantaged communities in California.”

Cal. Health & Safety Code §38565

Integrating Equity Objectives into Climate Policy:Politically Nuts?

“Climate policy is hard enough ….”

The Politics of Equity Considerations

• Striking a deal with impacted industries: more complicated

• Building a political movement

Disadvantaged constituencies might oppose climate and energy legislation due to economic concerns

Climate legislation presenting a broader vision for improving environmental and consumer welfare could generate popular support

Conclusion

Climate policy is inherently political.

Addressing the “ethics and fairness” implications of climate policy will be critical to resolving the current climate stalemate

Contact Information

Prof. Alice KaswanUniversity of San Francisco School of Law

2130 Fulton St.San Francisco, CA 94117

(415) [email protected]

Web-page: http://www.usfca.edu/law/faculty/alice_kaswan/