Reparations, Climate Change, and the Background Rules of International Law

The debate over whether, when, and by whom reparations should be paid for climate-related loss and damage has been central to the struggle over the role of international law in responding to climate change. The push for climate reparations is an attempt to have international law treat the harm caused by climate change with the same gravity as issues such as the damage caused by war, gross violations of human rights, or injury to the economic interests of foreign investors. At stake in that struggle is a broader question that goes to the heart of the global political economy: who should bear the social costs of industrialization and technological development on a global scale?