Transcript Ethical Challenges of Climate Change

Human Security
and Climate Change:
the Ethical Challenge
Arthur Lyon Dahl Ph.D.
International Environment Forum (IEF)
http://iefworld.org/
Fifth ECPD International Conference
Brioni Islands, Croatia
30 October 2009
International Environment Forum
Temperature
Trends
Projected Temperature Increase 2100
We are all responsible
for climate change
• Everyone benefiting from the burning of fossil
fuels
• Everyone involved in land clearing or benefiting
from land use changes
• How much we are responsible depends on our
country of residence, lifestyle and consumption
patterns, with the rich most responsible
• The poor will be the greatest victims of climate
change, while contributing the least
• This is an ethical dilemma
Threat to Human Security
• If climate change goes unchecked, its effects
will be catastrophic “on the level of nuclear war”.
• ‘The security dimension will come increasingly
to the forefront as countries begin to see falls in
available resources and economic vitality,
increased stress on their armed forces, greater
instability in regions of strategic import,
increases in ethnic rivalries, and a widening gap
between rich and poor’.
International Institute for Strategic Studies, Strategic Survey 2007
(September 2007)
Predicted changes in precipitation
December-February
June-August
Percent change 1900-1999 to 2000-2099
IPCC 2007
Climate change in the
Balkans
Impacts greater in the south
• Croatia: T +1-2° in 2050, 2-3° in 2080;
P +2-6% in 2050, 6-10% in 2080
• FYR Macedonia: T +1.5%° in 2050,
1.7-3° in 2080; P -2% in 2050, -2-4% in
2080
• Albania: T +1-2° in 2050, 2-4° in 2080;
P -4-6% in 2050, -6-12% in 2080
Europe's Environment: The Fourth Assessment 2007, p. 150
Human Impacts of Climate Change
• Increased damage from extreme weather
events: floods, droughts, cyclones
• Less winter snowfall, water shortages in
summer, increased wildfires
• Changing conditions for agriculture and
forestry, shifting fish stocks
• Sea level rise, flooding low-lying areas and
islands
• Millions of environmental refugees (200-500m)
A 'perfect storm' by 2030
• UK Chief Scientist (19 March 2009): the
world faces a 'perfect storm' of problems
in 2030 as food, energy and water
shortages interact with climate change
to produce public unrest, cross-border
conflicts and mass migrations
Effect on the economy

The Stern Report estimated the
annual cost of uncontrolled climate
change at more than $660 billion (5
to 20% of global GDP, as compared
to 1% for control measures for
greenhouse gases).
Present institutions have failed to
address such global challenges
• No politician will sacrifice short-term
economic welfare
• Deep social divisions within societies and
between countries prevent united action in
the common interest
• Our present economic system is driving us in
the wrong direction
Economic thinking is challenged
by the environmental crisis
(including climate change)
- The belief that there is no limit to nature's
capacity to fulfil any demand made on it is false
- A culture which attaches absolute value to
expansion, to acquisition, and to the
satisfaction of people's wants must recognise
that such goals are not, by themselves,
realistic guides to policy
(based on The Prosperity of Humankind, Bahá'í International Community, 1995)
Climate change is driven by our
consumer culture
- Materialism's gospel of human betterment produced
today's consumer culture pursuing ephemeral goals
- For the small minority of people who can afford them,
the benefits it offers are immediate, and the rationale
unapologetic
- The breakdown of traditional morality has led to the
triumph of animal impulse, as instinctive and blind as
appetite
- Selfishness becomes a prized commercial resource;
falsehood reinvents itself as public information; greed,
lust, indolence, pride - even violence - acquire not
merely broad acceptance but social and economic value
(based on Baha'i International Community, One Common Faith, 2005)
Action on climate change must address this ethical level
Moral and ethical challenge
Mitigation of climate change poses real
financial, technological and political challenges.
But it also asks profound moral and ethical
questions of our generation. In the face of clear
evidence that inaction will hurt millions of
people and consign them to lives of poverty and
vulnerability, can we justify inaction? No
civilized community adhering to even the most
rudimentary ethical standards would answer
that question in the affirmative....
UNDP Human Development Report 2007/2008, p. 68
A more ethical economics
Economics has ignored the broader context of
humanity's social and spiritual existence, resulting in:
- Corrosive materialism on the one hand
- Persistent poverty among the masses on the other
The ultimate function of economic systems should be
to equip the peoples and institutions of the world with
the means to achieve the real purpose of
development: that is, the cultivation of the limitless
potentialities latent in human consciousness.
(adapted from Bahá'í International Community, Valuing Spirituality in Development, 1998)
We need new economic models that
- further a dynamic, just and thriving social
order
- are strongly altruistic and cooperative in
nature
- provide meaningful employment
- help to eradicate poverty in the world
(Bahá'í International Community, Valuing Spirituality in Development. 1998)
Only such a system will give the right
signals for challenges like climate change
and sustainability
Justice and Equity
necessary for action
on climate change
Only development programmes that
are perceived by the masses of
humanity as meeting their needs and
as being just and equitable in
objective can hope to engage their
commitment, upon which
implementation depends
(based on Baha'i International Community, Prosperity of Humankind)
Collaborative Program on the
Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change
Buenos Aires Declaration on the Human Dimensions of Climate Change - COP
of UNFCCC 2004. http://rockethics.psu.edu/climate/declaration.pdf

An ethically based global consensus on
climate change may prevent further
disparities between rich and poor, and
reduce potential international tension that
will arise from climate-caused food and
water scarcities and perceived inequitable
use of the global atmospheric commons
as a carbon sink.
Faith-based Action Plans
for Climate Change
• The Alliance of Religions and Conservation
(ARC) and UNDP have invited the 11 major
religions to prepare long-term action plans
on climate change and the natural
environment
• These will be presented on 2-4 November
2009 at Windsor Castle co-hosted by the UN
Secretary-General and Prince Philip
• see http://www.arcworld.org/
Ways forward in the Balkans
Harness all available sources of energy in the region
Reduce environmental impact to sustainable limits
Accelerate the transition to reduce the shock
Support global governance mechanisms to manage
this global challenge
Build a strong sense of community and solidarity
within the region and with the outside world
Share the cost, effort and benefits with equity and
justice
Climate change may be the common
threat that brings governments and
peoples in the Balkans to work
together in their collective interest
An ethical approach will be essential
to convince all of us to act