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Slave ownership and fossil fuel usage: a commentary

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  • Klas Rönnbäck

Abstract

In a recent, thought-provoking article, Jean-François Mouhot argues that there are many similarities between historical slave ownership and present-day fossil fuel usage. For that reason, Mouhot believes, members of modern fossil-fuel-dependent civilization should not feel morally superior to slave owners. While it is easy to sympathize with Mouhot’s intentions of furthering a transition to sustainable energy use, some arguments made in the article are in need of refinement. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Klas Rönnbäck, 2014. "Slave ownership and fossil fuel usage: a commentary," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 1-9, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:122:y:2014:i:1:p:1-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-013-0998-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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