The actual numbers of international climate-related migration are not as large as expected, considering the rapid increase in the uninhabitability of these places in the Global South. This...Show moreThe actual numbers of international climate-related migration are not as large as expected, considering the rapid increase in the uninhabitability of these places in the Global South. This discrepancy may partly stem from the complex and multifaceted nature of migration, with the climate factors influencing economic opportunity and conflict, making it difficult to differentiate between people that migrate for climate reasons and people that migrate for other reasons, such as economic opportunities. However, it more likely arises from people being trapped within their increasingly uninhabitable homes, because they do not have the capacity to move or willingness to leave their home. Therefore, policymakers and researchers should redirect their attention to immobility, as the ‘trapped populations’ are an urgent and underexposed problem. This thesis will examine the term 'trapped populations,' by using conceptions of Zickgraf (2019, 2023) and De Shalit (2011) and clarifying the complexities inherent in their immobility. I will argue for ‘the right to stay’ as the most protective right for the interests of the trapped populations, as it respects the importance of a home in a person their life.Show less
Utopianism has developed over time from abstract fictions of ideal societies to both a canon of theories and a method of theorizing about what societies best facilitate the good life. Modern...Show moreUtopianism has developed over time from abstract fictions of ideal societies to both a canon of theories and a method of theorizing about what societies best facilitate the good life. Modern utopianism is under-utilized as a tool to evaluate policy proposals that have the potential to impact society's structure on a fundamental level. Universal Basic Income (UBI) is an unconditional monetary payment to all to fulfill people's basic needs. With that, it separates people's right to their basic needs from an obligation to work, allowing them more freedom in what work they do and whether they want to work. UBI has been developed into specific policy programs worldwide, but has not yet progressed beyond a welfare program in most cases. A truly utopian UBI would be more ambitious, but is not yet feasible.Show less
This thesis explores the principles of distributive justice in the context of climate change. I first evaluate the Ability to Pay Principle, the Polluter Pays Principle, and the Beneficiary Pays...Show moreThis thesis explores the principles of distributive justice in the context of climate change. I first evaluate the Ability to Pay Principle, the Polluter Pays Principle, and the Beneficiary Pays Principle on their normative grounds. I conclude that the BPP can be defended against objections concerning the consideration of wealth in proportion to historical emissions and imposing costs on the wrong people, whereas the PPP and the APP can not. Therefore the BPP is a fairer principle. However, due to the past-benefits objection, I render the BPP nonetheless inappropriate to guide international climate policy. Instead, I propose an altered version of the BPP (Alternative Beneficiary Pays Principle), which is able to take both historical, present, and future emissions into consideration, filling the gap the other principles leave open. Finally, whereas the current literature stops after dealing with the normative grounds of the principles, I further evaluate the feasibility of the ABPP in guiding international climate negotiations. I conclude that the long- and short-term feasibility of the ABPP is enhanced due to taking states as appropriate agents to assign the costs of climate change.Show less
