Political Theory on Climate Change

This article focuses on discussions in political theory on climate change in the period 2005-2015, setting them in the context of broader discussions in political theory on the environment and ecology in the period 1990-2005. The themes of justice, politics, and expertise are used to organize the review. It is argued that discussions of justice and climate change could benefit from a richer connection to the literature on historical injustice; that in discussions of the politics of climate change, a comparative advantage of political theory lies in further development of the role of ethos and imagination in reshaping our understanding of the place of the status quo; and that more research into the relationship between expertise and democracy is needed. In conclusion, the idea of the Anthropocene is considered, with the need for further consideration of politics in specifying how humans are transforming the nature of the earth and atmosphere.