The Brundtland Commission (as mentioned in ch. 6 of your \"Applied Ethics & Envi

Question

The Brundtland Commission (as mentioned in ch. 6 of your "Applied Ethics & Environment in Technology" text) was concerned about environmental degradation because it leads to poverty and economic disparities among societies. The 2007 and 2013 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports (also identified in ch. 6 of the same text) show that global warming exacerbates disparities because the economic loss caused by climate change will fall hardest on the poorest nations. This disparity raises some very basic questions of fairness. Please click the above hyperlink and address (i.e., provide elaborated answers; include details, consequences, etc. for different scenarios / options that you chose) each of the 3 questions pertaining to the "ethical implications of climate change." 1) Is it ethical or fair for richer countries to burn fossil fuels indiscriminately, thereby creating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and indirectly imposing climate change on poorer countries? 2) Is it ethical or fair to require poor or undeveloped third-world countries to meet the same emissions standards as Western countries, which have emitted about 20 times as much GHG per capita for the past century? 3) How will the industrialized nations respond to the millions of "climate" refugees created in Africa when droughts reduce crops, or in Bangladesh and the Pacific islands when sea levels rise and flood these low-living countries?

Explanation / Answer

1) Is it ethical or fair for richer countries to burn fossil fuels indiscriminately, thereby creating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and indirectly imposing climate change on poorer countries?

A – NO - It is not ethical for richer countries to burn fossil fuels indiscriminately leading to change in climate. It is true that Climate change is a global phenomenon that is affecting everyone. However, the intensity with which it affects the world varies greatly from country to country. For Example it is observed from the IPCC report on Climate change, 2016 that many island countries like Marshall Islands, Maldives, Tuvalu, Nauru etc., and many low-lying coastal countries like Bangladesh are gravely affected by sea-level rise. The total output of Carbon dioxide (a green-house gas causing global warming and leading to Climate change)by these countries is negligible compared to developed countries. The latter i.e USA and OECD group together emit nearly 67% of the total CO2 in the world. 90% of the remaining is release by developing countries like the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). Therefore the poorer countries have to face consequences of problems that were created by someone else.

            Moreover, the developed countries have been emitting greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution that started in 1780s. Therefore they cannot emit GHGs indiscriminately to their own self-interest thereby behaving contrary to the common good of all world citizens and disregarding polluter-pays principle.

            It is argued that even developed countries have the right to grow which requires burning of fossil fuels indirectly. Ethically this is alright, however, care should be taken that the right to grow should not hamper the SURVIVAL of poorer countries. Hence developed countries should act Ethically while dealing with Climate change issues.

2) Is it ethical or fair to require poor or undeveloped third-world countries to meet the same emissions standards as Western countries, which have emitted about 20 times as much GHG per capita for the past century?

A - No, it is unethical for poor/underdeveloped countries to be treated on the same level as Western countries while dealing with emissions control. Developed countries have been emitting greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution that started in 1780s whereas the poor countries have just initiated their industrial growth. Therefore the developed countries cannot emit GHGs indiscriminately to their own self-interest and expect poor countries which are not endowed with enough financial or technological prowess to be treated as equals in the fight to control climate change.

            Moreover, the poor countries don’t have the required human resource and/or expertise that can help meeting them the emission standards as effectively as developed countries. A level playing field in this case would stall industrial progress for poor countries. They may also become reliant on developed countries for Finance and Technological inputs. In worst case scenario it may lead to a new form of colonialism by the name Techno-colonialism.

Hence, Developed and poor countries cannot be treated at par when it comes to tackling climate change.

3) How will the industrialized nations respond to the millions of "climate" refugees created in Africa when droughts reduce crops, or in Bangladesh and the Pacific islands when sea levels rise and flood these low-living countries

A - Climate change has the potential of creating an ocean of ‘’climate refugees’’ of the scale that the world has never seen before. In this context, the industrialized nations may take the following courses of action

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