Collective Self-Determination and International Authority in Climate Governance

This article investigates how future climate governance might be made legitimate and compatible with collective self-determination. I develop an original account of international legitimacy through a domestic analogy between relations among self-determining individuals and relations among self-determining political communities. I argue that ideally, future climate legislation should be authorized by an assembly of the world’s peoples and other relevant constituencies, through qualified majority voting, and it should be enforced through carbon tariffs applied by cooperating states. Though this proposal may not be immediately actionable, it performs an important guidance function, helping us evaluate currently feasible climate governance options according to whether they facilitate a transition toward this ideal.