Identify some new ethical issues raised by the impacts of climate change. Then identify the moral standards each issue relates to
Climate change is not a new phenomenon. It has existed through history, only that its study and most of the impact only began to be recorded a little over a century ago. Current processes of climate change have impacted the world in various aspects. While the most and immediate impacts of climate change relate to direct effects on the atmosphere and the environment, climate change also presents a set of challenges and concerns in regards to ethics.
The first ethical issue stems from the fact that climate change is not a regional but a global concern. This means the impacts of greenhouse gasses emissions in one part of the world are not limited to that particular region but anywhere in the world. This has resulted in what is commonly referred to as “prisoner dilemma” or tragedy of the commons in relation to the role played by individual states in influencing climate change. As industrialization continues to expand, particularly in developed countries, so are the levels of gases released into the atmosphere. This is unfair to the poor people in underdeveloped countries or nations which continue to maintain low emission levels.
Another ethical issue arising is that current emissions do not only have a profound impact on the current generation but also the generations to come. Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, can remain in the atmosphere for many years only for the impacts to be felt in many decades to come. The technical ability of humans to adversely impact the health of people they will never meet, people who did not contribute to the problem is morally wrong and unjust.
The third ethical concern relates to the justice system. Our theoretical tools are deficient in many areas, including the justice system and other relevant areas, including rights, political legitimacy, and the relationship between humans and nature. For instance, the climate justice system does not address humans’ obligations and moral duties to animals and other living organisms in the environment. How selfish is it that only a few studies speak on the impacts of climate change on other the life of the ecosystem besides humans?
The only solution to climate change is realizing and accepting that we are all responsible for climate change. Accepting that damage is already done and developing strategies to resolve and prevent additional damages that might pose a threat in the future. We all have an ethical responsibility to our neighbors, future generations, and all the life we share this world with.
Adger, W. Neil, Catherine Butler, and Kate Walker-Springett. “Moral reasoning in adaptation to climate change.” Environmental Politics 26, no. 3 (2017): 371-390.
Lenzi, Dominic. “The ethics of negative emissions.” Global Sustainability 1 (2018).
Palmer, Clare. “Climate change, ethics, and the wildness of wild animals.” In Animal Ethics in the Age of Humans, pp. 131-150. Springer, Cham, 2016.
