INTRODUCTION

Climate change is forcing decision makers at national and international levels to make difficult choices. Confronted with competing demands and interests, countries are faced with committing significant resources to avoid consequences that, while beginning to be felt now, will only manifest themselves decades and, in some cases, centuries from now. Decisions will need to be taken under conditions of considerable uncertainty as to the exact scope and timing of harm. Moreover, the adverse impacts of climate change will be unevenly distributed, with the countries least responsible for the historical buildup of greenhouse gases (GHGs) bearing the brunt. Under such conditions, values and principles carry added weight in decision making. Science provides information on the status of the climate system and projections of future changes. Economics attempts to present the costs and benefits of alternative courses of action. Yet observing the global effort to combat climate change reveals that a key part of the discussion revolves around the contested concept of fairness. A juridical analysis of options to combat climate change will benefit from a critical engagement with the principle of fairness.

Fairness claims and discourse are a major part of the climate change regime.