What could justify a prohibition on the luxury emissions of the very rich?

Fausto Corvino

Politics, Philosophy & Economics2025https://doi.org/10.1177/1470594x241307048article
ABDC B
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

In this article, I discuss whether, in addition to pricing emissions, we should prohibit a specific category of luxury emissions, those arising from goods and services that only the richest can afford. In the first part, I ask whether a justification for such a prohibition can be derived from emissions sufficientarianism. I argue that emissions sufficientarianism does not explain why we should prohibit only high-wealth emissions and not also the recursive production of emissions that are neither high-wealth nor subsistence. Moreover, it does not provide a reason why we should prevent the production of high-wealth emissions by those who have offset them ex ante. In the second part, I ask whether a justification for the prohibition of high-wealth emissions can be based on emissions limitarianism. I argue that emissions limitarianism can explain why we should prohibit only high-wealth emissions, but it cannot account for why high-wealth emissions are bad even if they are offset ex ante. In the third part, I use two arguments, positional consumption and moral disengagement, to explain why carbon offsetting cannot be used as a means of circumventing the emissions ceiling. I conclude with a brief overview of the policy implications of this normative discussion.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/1470594x241307048

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@article{fausto2025,
  title        = {{What could justify a prohibition on the luxury emissions of the very rich?}},
  author       = {Fausto Corvino},
  journal      = {Politics, Philosophy & Economics},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/1470594x241307048},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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