THE ETHICAL VIEW OF CLIMATE CHANGE
This paper aims to discuss the view that climate change is an ethical issue. It argues that climate
change can be regarded as an ethical view because it is an anthropogenic issue that appeals to the
morality of people, any suggested action in response to it is ethical, and also that it poses a threat
to human and non-human existence now and in the future. The paper begins with an
introduction, then an ethical assessment of climate change, following the discussion on reasons
why climate change can be regarded as an ethical issue, and finally the conclusion.
To begin with, climate change has become an everyday topic of discussion because it is a major
problem that globally threatens both human and non-human existence. The basic assessment of
this issue begins with the factors that contributed to and continue to contribute to climate change,
then the impact of climate change, and even the strategies that are used to solve the climate
change problems. In all these areas, ethics appears to be important for a better understanding of
this issue. For instance, according to Onoja, Dibua, and Enete (2011), human emission of
greenhouse gases has been the main driver of climate change. This means that people contribute
greatly to climate change, a fact in which the moral status of people is questioned. In other
words, climate change qualifies to be called ethical issue since behind the scenes morality plays a
role in that problem. In addition, the impact of climate change also shapes our understanding of
whether we regard it as an ethical issue or not. Hayward (2012) argues that the effects of climate
change are detrimental not only to humans but to the entire environment. This means that climate
change is responsible for causing harm to both human and non-human animals, a fact that
requires ethical assessment. Gardiner (2006) further argues that climate change is a perfect moral
storm and it brings a vulnerability to both humans and non-humans. In other words, the havoc
that is caused by climate change like droughts, floods, and landslides among others brings an
impression of considering morality. The following discussion dwells much on providing the
reasons that climate change should be regarded as an ethical issue.
The first reason for regarding climate change as an ethical issue is that it is an anthropogenic
issue. This means that it is created by people or caused by human activities. There are several
ways through which people contribute to climate change. For instance, humans are responsible
for the production of greenhouse gas that is accumulated in the atmosphere. This involves the
Industrial Revolution which fostered the production of heavy machines that relied on fuels to
maximize the production. Not only the Industrial Revolution but also excessive agricultural
operations which further involves the high use of fuel-based mechanization, burning of
agricultural residues, burning of fossil fuels, and deforestation among others (Abbass & et al
2022). All these lead to the emission of greenhouse gases. The basic interest of all these is to
maximize the profits which without proper consideration will contribute to catastrophes like the
floods that are common in contemporary times. Furthermore, greenhouse gases remain in the
atmosphere for almost 100 years before being absorbed, which means that what we are
experiencing now are the effects of accumulated past greenhouse emissions, a fact which is
likely to worsen for future generations if efforts to lower emissions remain off the mark (Fries
2019). In short, human activities have the upper hand in contributing to climate change, and
holding them morally responsible for this can help to reduce the havoc of climate change effects
hence it is a moral issue.
