Climate Activism and Harm to Innocents

Informazioni relative al progetto

ClimActiv

ID dell’accordo di sovvenzione: 101024225

DOI

10.3030/101024225

Progetto chiuso

Data della firma CE 12 Aprile 2021

Data di avvio 1 Luglio 2021

Data di completamento 30 Giugno 2023

Finanziato da

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Costo totale

€ 224 933,76

Contributo UE

€ 224 933,76

Coordinato da

LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ClimActiv (Climate Activism and Harm to Innocents)

Periodo di rendicontazione: 2021-07-01 al 2023-06-30

Sintesi del contesto e degli obiettivi generali del progetto

The project aimed at morally assessing forms of climate activism that risk harming innocents. Climate activism was defined broadly, encompassing any attempt by an individual or group to push for climate-change mitigation policies. Climate activism ultimately aims at preventing serious climate harms. Such activism, however, often risks imposing economic, democratic, and other costs on people. The research focused on two forms of activism: climate direct action, and corporate climate lobbying.

Lavoro eseguito dall’inizio del progetto fino alla fine del periodo coperto dalla relazione e principali risultati finora ottenuti

The project first produced a review article that documents the main ethical debates around the most prominent forms of climate activism. This includes debates on whether there is a duty to become a climate activist, and debates on whether climate activism is adequately inclusive, democratic, and non-violent.
The project then produced a paper on whether certain forms of climate direct action (such as power plant occupations and cruise ship sabotage) that aim at directly stopping greenhouse gas emissions can be justified as an act of self-defense.
Finally, the project produced a paper on whether corporate lobbying that aims at pushing in favour of climate policies can be justified despite being undemocratic.

The project results were disseminated in 3 academic events at the LSE and the University of Manchester, and an expert panel at the LSE aimed at the general public. The events featured leading academic experts such as Simon Caney and Elizabeth Cripps, and leading civil society practitioners such as Edward Collins (InfluenceMap) and Clare Richards (Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change).
The results were also disseminated in opinion notes on the LSE Government blog, newspaper, radio, and NGO websites.

Progressi oltre lo stato dell’arte e potenziale impatto previsto (incluso l’impatto socioeconomico e le implicazioni sociali più ampie del progetto fino ad ora)

The project made progress beyond the state-of-the-art in three main ways. First, it produced the first review article on the ethics of climate activism. Secondly, the project produced the first paper to systematically apply the self-defense philosophical framework to the ethics of climate direct action, showing that this action can sometimes be justified as a form of necessary and proportionate other-defense. Thirdly, the project developed a novel view on corporate lobbying’s democratic credentials, and showed that corporate lobbying in favour of ambitious climate policies can be justified despite being undemocratic in important senses.

The results can help shape European policy and public discourse. Regarding climate corporate lobbying, the results suggest ways in which corporations can improve the democratic credentials of their lobbying for climate policy, and suggest ways in which governments can improve lobbying regulation so as to make it more democratic. Regarding activism, the results suggest reasons why governments should tolerate disruptive forms of activism, given their potential for significant influence on climate-related goals.

Image representing climate political change. (Image generated by Bing Chat)