Fossil fuel corporations owe climate reparations

This article provides a philosophical argument that business corporations, especially fossil fuel corporations, bear moral obligations for climate reparation. It identifies four philosophical grounds of such duties. Reparative actions might include monetary transfers, structural remediation or relationship repair. The article offers contributions in two places. First, the proposed ethical obligations provide normative foundations for legislative reform. Second, it highlights the transformative power of shareholders in inducing corporations to enact their obligations, even from within the existing legal parameters of the corporation.

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Publication Details

Journal
Alternative Law Journal
Published
2026-04-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/1037969x261443065
Primary Topic
Climate Change and Geoengineering
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Fossil fuel corporations owe climate reparations

S. Collins
Alternative Law Journal
Climate Change and Geoengineering
article

Fossil fuel corporations owe climate reparations

S. Collins
article en

Abstract

This article provides a philosophical argument that business corporations, especially fossil fuel corporations, bear moral obligations for climate reparation. It identifies four philosophical grounds of such duties. Reparative actions might include monetary transfers, structural remediation or relationship repair. The article offers contributions in two places. First, the proposed ethical obligations provide normative foundations for legislative reform. Second, it highlights the transformative power of shareholders in inducing corporations to enact their obligations, even from within the existing legal parameters of the corporation.

Alternative Law Journal
Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (AU), Monash University (AU)
Australian Research Council
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Climate Change and Geoengineering
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