A leading political philosopher takes on Australia's biggest carbon emitters and their moral responsibilities.

It's a shocking fact: the emissions produced annually from the fossil fuels extracted by Australia's major gas, coal and oil producers — Glencore, BHP Yancoal, Peabody, Whitehaven and Anglo-American — and sold here and overseas are larger than the emissions of all 25 million Australians.

And if Australia's exported and domestic emissions are combined, Australia ranks as the sixth largest emitter in the world, behind China, USA, India, Russia and Japan. Far from being an insignificant contributor to climate change because of our small population, Australia is a key driver through our fossil fuel exports.

How have these companies' exports escaped scrutiny when climate change is such an immediate area of concern around the world?

Understanding the moral responsibility of Australia's major carbon emitters is a crucial first step in determining how to fairly share the burdens of a climate transition. In Carbon Justice, leading political philosopher Jeremy Moss sets out an ethical framework to establish the cost of the harms of these major emitters and what they should do about it. What they do next will shape Australia's response to climate change.