Climate and Systemic Risk
In this work package, DERISK will examine the normative and political dimensions of climate change as a systemic risk. From interrogating the ethical permissibility of risk mitigation strategies like carbon offsetting to evaluating the efficacy of conventional insurance mechanisms in mitigating climate-related risks, DERISK will examine how climate change is challenging existing models of democratic risk governance.
By engaging with cutting-edge debates surrounding climate justice, democratic legitimacy, and the ethics of risk, the project seeks to chart a course toward democratic responses that uphold and reinforce political equality while confronting the formidable challenges posed by climate change.
DERISK will examine the connection between climate change and systemic risk governance.. Unlike risks characterised by more immediate crises, such as financial collapses or pandemics, climate change introduces a distinctive temporal dimension, with the juxtaposition of the decade-spanning nature of its potential impact against the shortened timeframes of democratic decision-making processes.
This temporal disjunction poses profound issues for democratic governance of climate change risk, raising the problem of reconciling the imperative for comprehensive decade-spanning action with the imperative for inclusive, deliberative decision-making.
Moreover, the asymmetric contributions of individuals and institutions to the generation of climate risk requires an examination of the ethical and distributive dimensions underlying democratic responses. DERISK will scrutinise the interplay between individual moral obligations, institutional responsibilities, and democratic principles of fairness and equity in navigating the complex landscape of climate risk governance.
Furthermore, DERISK will grapple with the challenge of democratizing decision-making on a global scale. Through its research, the project seeks to shed light on the normative dimensions of global climate governance, emphasizing the importance of democratic principles, inclusivity, and equitable responsibility in this field of systemic risk governance.
