My main research interests are in political philosophy and applied philosophy. Current research interests include projects on: climate justice, the ethics of renewable energy as well as the ethical issues associated with climate transitions. I am Director of the Practical Justice Initiative and lead the Climate Justice Research program at UNSW as part of the Practical Justice Initiative (PJI).
This article presents the results of a qualitative study of 72 workers in regional Victoria, Aust... more This article presents the results of a qualitative study of 72 workers in regional Victoria, Australia. Against the background of the growing casualization of the workforce it demonstrates the impact on the health and well-being of these workers, focusing on the intersection between psychosocial working conditions and health. In particular it focuses on the detrimental impact on workers’ sense of self-efficacy and self-esteem. It emphasizes how the job insecurity characteristic of non-standard work extends beyond the fear of job loss to involve uncertainty over the scheduling of work, with debilitating consequences for workers’ autonomy, self-efficacy and control over their lives. Additionally, it is argued that the exclusion of these workers from paid leave and other entitlements in the workplace confers a lower social status on these workers that is corrosive of their self-esteem. It is these key socio-psychological mechanisms that provide the link between insecure work and worker...
This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study of the impact of casualised and independe... more This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study of the impact of casualised and independent contractor work place arrangements on the psycho-social health of 72 workers in regional Victoria. It contributes to our understanding of the crisis in rural Australia in its use of qualitative methods focusing on the impact of work on health and well-being. There is some evidence in the literature that casualised work arrangement enhance the health and well-being of workers by giving them a sense of autonomy and freedom to negotiate their conditions of work. On the other hand, these arrangements may make an already vulnerable group even more vulnerable to uncertain work conditions, poor pay and uncertainty for their future with a significantly negative impact on their health and wellbeing. The results of these interviews support this latter perspective and show that these workers do not experience freedom and autonomy, but rather lowered social status, insecurity and serious limitati...
Australia is currently the World's second largest exporter of gas. The GHG emissions produced... more Australia is currently the World's second largest exporter of gas. The GHG emissions produced from exported gas add significantly to the risk of climate change. Yet according to current international conventions, fossil fuel-exporting States such as Australia are not liable for any of the harms to which their exported fossil fuels contribute. This article argues that the current "territorial" model for allocating responsibility for climate harms is inadequate and that fossil fuel-exporting States ought to be responsible for at least some of the harms to which their exported fossil fuel emissions contribute. Part II outlines the extent of Australia's gas export industry. Part III describes an account of complicity drawn from legal and moral philosophy and applies it to the case of Australia's gas export industry. Part IV discusses two ways in which gas use constitutes significant harm. The article closes by considering the policy implications of these moral argu...
Transformative Climates and Accountable Governance, 2018
Given the crucial role that exports play in driving fossil fuel development and consumption, the ... more Given the crucial role that exports play in driving fossil fuel development and consumption, the question of whether to limit exports is an important dimension of the debate concerning supply-side constraints. One crucial dimension of this debate is the moral case for limiting exports. This chapter discusses the moral arguments for limiting exports and argues that it is unjust for most countries that currently export fossil fuels to continue to do so based on the harm that they knowingly risk causing to people in other countries. In the second part, I discuss what follows from this argument for exporters. For example, if this kind of argument is true, then exporting countries face a range of responses that they could be obligated to perform including: phasing out exports, limiting new developments and exploration, compensating for harm, including a portion of the emissions of their exports in their domestic carbon budget or adopting faster domestic transitions. The chapter evaluates which of these responses exporters have an obligation to perform. The chapter also discusses some of the other consequences of this approach, such as whether and to what degree there are different constraints on developing countries that export fossil fuels, the likelihood of ‘negative’ carbon budgets for big fossil fuel exporters and the consequences for their climate transitions.
Divestment from companies that produce or heavily utilize fossil fuels has become one of the bigg... more Divestment from companies that produce or heavily utilize fossil fuels has become one of the biggest issues in the contemporary moral debate surrounding climate change. Universities and other institutions are being asked to divest themselves of their fossil fuel related investments. In this paper I argue that, while the case for divestment is morally strong, not all of the arguments used to support divestment are equally strong. Moreover, it matters a great deal for the strength of the conclusions regarding divestment which of these arguments are employed. There are two major groups of arguments: what I call positive arguments for divestment, which stem from the claim that divestment is a response to general duties to take action to prevent dangerous climate change, and what I call negative arguments, which stem from a duty not to cause harm. In this paper I will briefly characterize what divestment means and to whom it applies. I will then look at negative and positive duty accounts of the duty to divest before looking at the standard objections to both. Objections have tended to cohere around the claims that divesting is inconsistent, useless and/or harmful, or should be abandoned for better options to avoid dangerous climate change. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
The “equality of what?” debate is concerned with articulating a “metric” or “currency” of equalit... more The “equality of what?” debate is concerned with articulating a “metric” or “currency” of equality that is part of a theory of justice. As we have seen, whereas we might have equality in terms of all kinds of things – equality before the law, basic moral equality, for instance – typically egalitarians are concerned with a substantive understanding of equality that relates broadly to how well people’s lives go, not just the formal equal freedoms that people may have, important though these are. A focus on equality of condition has traditionally been a defining feature of egalitarianism. More recently debate about which is the best metric has also occupied an important place in defining what egalitarianism stands for. The assessment of the “equality of what?” debate must contain at least two dimensions: (1) which metric is best able to achieve a valuable type of equality as part of a theory of justice; and (2) whether it does so in a substantial enough way. The latter question is particularly important.
This article considers the philosophical foundations of preference‐based and capability approache... more This article considers the philosophical foundations of preference‐based and capability approaches to well‐being. I argue that standard preference‐based approaches face difficulties in providing a satisfactory account of well‐being and that the capability approach, developed by Amartya Sen, offers a superior account. In particular, I argue that subjective preference accounts of well‐being are philosophically difficult to sustain and utilise in a public policy context.
Abstract. The ethical and political dilemmas raised by Information and Communication Technology (... more Abstract. The ethical and political dilemmas raised by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have only just begun to be understood. The impact of centralised data collection, mass communication technologies or the centrality of computer technology as a means of ...
This article presents the results of a qualitative study of 72 workers in regional Victoria, Aust... more This article presents the results of a qualitative study of 72 workers in regional Victoria, Australia. Against the background of the growing casualization of the workforce it demonstrates the impact on the health and well-being of these workers, focusing on the intersection between psychosocial working conditions and health. In particular it focuses on the detrimental impact on workers’ sense of self-efficacy and self-esteem. It emphasizes how the job insecurity characteristic of non-standard work extends beyond the fear of job loss to involve uncertainty over the scheduling of work, with debilitating consequences for workers’ autonomy, self-efficacy and control over their lives. Additionally, it is argued that the exclusion of these workers from paid leave and other entitlements in the workplace confers a lower social status on these workers that is corrosive of their self-esteem. It is these key socio-psychological mechanisms that provide the link between insecure work and worker...
This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study of the impact of casualised and independe... more This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study of the impact of casualised and independent contractor work place arrangements on the psycho-social health of 72 workers in regional Victoria. It contributes to our understanding of the crisis in rural Australia in its use of qualitative methods focusing on the impact of work on health and well-being. There is some evidence in the literature that casualised work arrangement enhance the health and well-being of workers by giving them a sense of autonomy and freedom to negotiate their conditions of work. On the other hand, these arrangements may make an already vulnerable group even more vulnerable to uncertain work conditions, poor pay and uncertainty for their future with a significantly negative impact on their health and wellbeing. The results of these interviews support this latter perspective and show that these workers do not experience freedom and autonomy, but rather lowered social status, insecurity and serious limitati...
Australia is currently the World's second largest exporter of gas. The GHG emissions produced... more Australia is currently the World's second largest exporter of gas. The GHG emissions produced from exported gas add significantly to the risk of climate change. Yet according to current international conventions, fossil fuel-exporting States such as Australia are not liable for any of the harms to which their exported fossil fuels contribute. This article argues that the current "territorial" model for allocating responsibility for climate harms is inadequate and that fossil fuel-exporting States ought to be responsible for at least some of the harms to which their exported fossil fuel emissions contribute. Part II outlines the extent of Australia's gas export industry. Part III describes an account of complicity drawn from legal and moral philosophy and applies it to the case of Australia's gas export industry. Part IV discusses two ways in which gas use constitutes significant harm. The article closes by considering the policy implications of these moral argu...
Transformative Climates and Accountable Governance, 2018
Given the crucial role that exports play in driving fossil fuel development and consumption, the ... more Given the crucial role that exports play in driving fossil fuel development and consumption, the question of whether to limit exports is an important dimension of the debate concerning supply-side constraints. One crucial dimension of this debate is the moral case for limiting exports. This chapter discusses the moral arguments for limiting exports and argues that it is unjust for most countries that currently export fossil fuels to continue to do so based on the harm that they knowingly risk causing to people in other countries. In the second part, I discuss what follows from this argument for exporters. For example, if this kind of argument is true, then exporting countries face a range of responses that they could be obligated to perform including: phasing out exports, limiting new developments and exploration, compensating for harm, including a portion of the emissions of their exports in their domestic carbon budget or adopting faster domestic transitions. The chapter evaluates which of these responses exporters have an obligation to perform. The chapter also discusses some of the other consequences of this approach, such as whether and to what degree there are different constraints on developing countries that export fossil fuels, the likelihood of ‘negative’ carbon budgets for big fossil fuel exporters and the consequences for their climate transitions.
Divestment from companies that produce or heavily utilize fossil fuels has become one of the bigg... more Divestment from companies that produce or heavily utilize fossil fuels has become one of the biggest issues in the contemporary moral debate surrounding climate change. Universities and other institutions are being asked to divest themselves of their fossil fuel related investments. In this paper I argue that, while the case for divestment is morally strong, not all of the arguments used to support divestment are equally strong. Moreover, it matters a great deal for the strength of the conclusions regarding divestment which of these arguments are employed. There are two major groups of arguments: what I call positive arguments for divestment, which stem from the claim that divestment is a response to general duties to take action to prevent dangerous climate change, and what I call negative arguments, which stem from a duty not to cause harm. In this paper I will briefly characterize what divestment means and to whom it applies. I will then look at negative and positive duty accounts of the duty to divest before looking at the standard objections to both. Objections have tended to cohere around the claims that divesting is inconsistent, useless and/or harmful, or should be abandoned for better options to avoid dangerous climate change. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
The “equality of what?” debate is concerned with articulating a “metric” or “currency” of equalit... more The “equality of what?” debate is concerned with articulating a “metric” or “currency” of equality that is part of a theory of justice. As we have seen, whereas we might have equality in terms of all kinds of things – equality before the law, basic moral equality, for instance – typically egalitarians are concerned with a substantive understanding of equality that relates broadly to how well people’s lives go, not just the formal equal freedoms that people may have, important though these are. A focus on equality of condition has traditionally been a defining feature of egalitarianism. More recently debate about which is the best metric has also occupied an important place in defining what egalitarianism stands for. The assessment of the “equality of what?” debate must contain at least two dimensions: (1) which metric is best able to achieve a valuable type of equality as part of a theory of justice; and (2) whether it does so in a substantial enough way. The latter question is particularly important.
This article considers the philosophical foundations of preference‐based and capability approache... more This article considers the philosophical foundations of preference‐based and capability approaches to well‐being. I argue that standard preference‐based approaches face difficulties in providing a satisfactory account of well‐being and that the capability approach, developed by Amartya Sen, offers a superior account. In particular, I argue that subjective preference accounts of well‐being are philosophically difficult to sustain and utilise in a public policy context.
Abstract. The ethical and political dilemmas raised by Information and Communication Technology (... more Abstract. The ethical and political dilemmas raised by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have only just begun to be understood. The impact of centralised data collection, mass communication technologies or the centrality of computer technology as a means of ...
How should the world's remaining carbon budget be divided among countries? We assess the role of ... more How should the world's remaining carbon budget be divided among countries? We assess the role of a fault-based principle in answering this question. Discussion of the role of historical emissions in dividing the global carbon budget has tended to focus on emissions before 1990. We think that this is in part because 1990 seems so recent, and thus post-1990 emissions seem to constitute a lesser portion of historical emissions. This point of view was undoubtedly warranted in the early 1990s, when discussion of fault-based principles in this context began. While this view still has some intuitive force, we find that it and the associated focus on pre-1990 emissions are now out of date. Emissions since 1990 in fact constitute a large and rapidly increasing proportion of emissions since 1750-approximately half of the carbon emissions due to fossil fuel use and cement production, at the time of writing. We show that a restricted fault-based principle, according to which emissions should be divided among countries on the basis of their emissions since 1990, is both viable and powerful. We consider standard objections to a fault-based principle in this context, how such a principle might more concretely be applied, and its likely implications.
Virtually every figure in the climate justice literature agrees that states are presently failing... more Virtually every figure in the climate justice literature agrees that states are presently failing to discharge their duties to take action on climate change. Few, however, have attempted to think through what follows from that fact from a moral point of view. In Climate Justice Beyond the State, Lachlan Umbers and Jeremy Moss argue that states’ failures to take action on climate change have important implications for the duties of the most important actors states contain within them – sub-national political communities, corporations, and individuals – actors that have been largely neglected in the climate justice literature, to date. Sub-national political communities and corporations, they argue, have duties to immediately, aggressively, and unilaterally reduce their emissions. Individuals, on the other hand, have duties to help promote collective action on climate change. Along the way, they contribute to a range of important contemporary debates, including those over the nature of collective duties, what agents are required to do under conditions of partial compliance, and the requirements of fairness.
In Carbon Justice, Moss argues that Australia’s continued contribution to climate change through ... more In Carbon Justice, Moss argues that Australia’s continued contribution to climate change through the export of fossil fuels is Australia’s great climate scandal.
The book explores how concepts ideas such as complicity, attributing responsibility, greenwashing, transferring risk and much more can help us get to the heart of the question – what is Australia’s real contribution to climate change?
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Papers by Jeremy Moss
The book explores how concepts ideas such as complicity, attributing responsibility, greenwashing, transferring risk and much more can help us get to the heart of the question – what is Australia’s real contribution to climate change?