Climate Change and the Interests of Future Generations: Closing the Gap Between Legitimate Politics and Climate Justice

Democracies are often held to be structurally ill-equipped to deal with long-term problems. This paper explores the possible gap between legitimate democratic decision-making and the demands of climate justice. It discusses various ways to close this gap but focuses in particular on one possibility, which is to institutionalize representatives for future generations. By including a hitherto excluded group of “affected” persons whose primary interest lies in the future, such an institution would not only increase legitimacy but also promote climate justice. The idea of representing future persons is, however, faced with various challenges (e.g., the danger that such representatives might be deemed illegitimate by the present citizenry, but – due to problems of authorization and accountability – even with regard to future persons). This paper examines these challenges at some lengths before proposing a specific form such representation could, and ultimately would have to, take in order to reconcile questions of legitimacy, democracy and justice.