Equity And Sustainability:Ethical Basis Of International Climate Cooperation

Global climate changes and frequent extreme weather have seriously threatened human being’s living environment and health safety, which have put forward severe challenge to people’s survival and development. The international community has reached a consensus when facing the global threat of climate changes, i.e., curbing the problem of global climate change has become common responsibility to all mankind. This consensus is based on ethics and morality. As to curbing the problem of climate changes, we have experienced a debate from science, politics and economics to ethics. Main principals for climate changes are affluent ones from developed or developing countries, while major bearers who have to endure the consequences of climate changes are vulnerable groups among the world, which is unjust for those poor developing countries. Global justice can be considered as the cornerstone to curb the problem of global climate changes, while fair and sustainable development is the essence of global justice. From this point, we can say that global climate changes belong to ethical nature of climate changes.Firstly, this article makes a historical review to development process and its major achievement of international climate cooperation. Then for the current key issues that has happened in the process of international climate cooperation, such as there exists difficulty to implement the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" which derived from United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, United States refused to sign Kyoto Protocol and so on, we keep on analyzing such issues’ethical flaws:there are differences when fulfilling the principle of fairness, sustainability of human development can not be guaranteed. Finally, by analyzing the principles of fairness and sustainable development, we put forward several strategies to improve ethical basis of international climate cooperation from three aspects. Strategies are as follows,(1) international climate cooperation should be promoted in the framework of justice.(2) climate cooperation should be adhered to the principle of intergenerational equity in order to achieve sustainable development of man and nature.(3) Solving climate crisis is a long process. Therefore countries should establish long-term shared vision of cooperation.