There are a number of philosophical and moral dilemmas arising from the climate
change debate which naturally lead into a discussion on fairness. Addressing climate
change can be analysed in greater depth by considering the ‘is-ought’ gap; which in
essence is the distinction between statements of fact and moral judgements. In the
context of environmental taxation then the ‘is’ element, the fact, is based on the
scientific evidence and the ‘ought’ element is the moral judgment that something
should be done.