Preprint / Version 1

Who Is More Responsible for the Environment: Corporations or Individuals?

##article.authors##

  • Ziqing Wang Keystone Academy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.1088

Keywords:

Environment, Corporations, Individuals

Abstract

The United Nations report on climate change released in October 2018 shows that humankind has less than two decades and “…plenty of hard work ahead to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid catastrophic consequences to the planet." Faced with the climate crisis, an ongoing debate concerns whether individuals should take a greater responsibility for environmental issues than corporations. This essay will argue that, instead, corporations are more responsible than private individuals for the environmental crisis.

References

Climate Justice Programme. (2013). We use the law to fight for climate justice. Climate Justice Programme. https://climatejustice.org.au/carbon-majors-1

FedEx. (2021, March 3). FedEx Commits to Carbon-Neutral Operations by 2040. FedEx Newsroom; FedEx Newsroom. https://newsroom.fedex.com/newsroom/asia-english/sustainability2021

Gaby Del Valle. (2018, October 12). Climate change: can individual consumer choices make a difference? Vox; Vox. https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/12/17967738/climate-change-consumer-choices-green-renewable-energy

History.com Editors. (2017, October 6). Climate Change History. HISTORY; HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/history-of-climate-change

TED. (2022). Elon Musk: A future worth getting excited about | TED | Tesla Texas Gigafactory interview [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRvf00NooN8

The Economist. (2020, May 23). The world urgently needs to expand its use of carbon prices. The Economist; The Economist. https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/05/23/the-world-urgently-needs-to-expand-its-use-of-carbon-prices

The Economist. (2022, May 26). Carbon markets are going global. The Economist; The Economist. https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/05/26/carbon-markets-are-going-global

The IPCC. (2022). Mitigation of Climate Change Summary for Policymakers Climate Change 2022 Working Group III contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_SPM.pdf

The U.S. EPA. (2015, December 29). Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions | US EPA. US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions

The Union of Concerned Scientists. (2012). Heads They Win, Tails We Lose. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/heads-they-win-report.pdf

The United Nations. (2018). Generating power | United Nations. United Nations; United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/climate-solutions/cities-pollution

Transport – Topics - IEA. (2020). Transport – Topics - IEA. IEA. https://www.iea.org/topics/transport

Downloads

Posted

2024-04-13