The industrialized world is ill prepared for the gradual but potentially catastrophic threat of global warming.

The goals established after the Paris Agreement of 2015 and incorporated into the framework of the EU Green Deal, are being contested; they will be surely delayed.

There seems to be a wide consensus that we need a new social contract for sustainability, but very scant understanding of the nature and implications of such a new social contract.

Research on the philosophical tradition of the social contract may shed light on the challenging social debate about transition. Philosophers, economists, psychologists, and political scientists have drawn upon this tradition to explore the dynamics of norm change, the determinants of compliance, the normative bases of agreements, and the very meaning of justice.

This project aims to help us understand individual and collective behavior regarding the challenge of mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

Both individuals and large organizations (private corporations and states) need to navigate the ethics of a new social contract that affects all industries at all levels, as well as the way of life for us and future generations.

The research team has previously collaborated in exploring the social-contract approach to business and organizational ethics, as well as diverse societal challenges related to labor and professional ethics, from an empirical and theoretical perspective.