Global Warming & Ethics

Climate Change and Intergenerational Justice: Balancing Responsibility and Ethics

Photo by Marlon Josué on Unsplash

Have you ever asked yourself while standing at the edge of a vast forest what choices you will make knowing that what you elect to do today will affect your children’s future? Is it important to you what you decide now will ultimately determine whether the trees continue to stand tall or vanish, leaving behind barren land?

Indeed, the question I put forth touches on the predicament we face with climate change today and our moral obligations to future generations.

So, how do we navigate this responsibility?

Should we look through the utilitarian lens, which seeks the greatest good for the greatest number, or as the deontological ethics outlines, should we emphasize strict moral duties regardless of consequences?

Utilitarianism; the philosophy, championed by thinkers like Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, suggests that our actions should aim to maximize overall happiness and minimize suffering. When we apply this within the context of climate change, a utilitarian approach would inherently push for policies and actions that lead to the greatest benefit for the largest number of people. Under this dogma people skso mean those who are not yet born. For instance…