Ethical guidelines to steer climate change policy

By James B. Martin-Schramm

The international community recently gathered in Copenhagen to discuss climate policy and to develop an agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012. Even a cursory reading of the daily news reveals that this was a very contentious meeting.

Global warming poses enormous risks. The means to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change require substantial financial resources. There is a great deal at stake economically, politically and ecologically.

How to best address and resolve the challenges posed by climate change is not only an economic or political question, it is also an ethical one. I co-teach a course on ethics, energy and climate policy. I developed the following ethical guidelines to assess various climate policy proposals:

Temporal dimensions

l Current urgency. Given the dire consequences associated with rapid climate change, climate policy proposals should be evaluated on the extent to which they address what Martin Luther King, Jr. famously termed “the fierce urgency of Now.”

l Future adequacy. The proposed level and timetable of reductions in GHG emissions must be sufficient to avoid catastrophic consequences associated with climate change.

l Historical responsibility. A greater share of the burden associated with reducing GHG emissions must fall on those who have been major emitters in the past.

l Existing capacity. Those with more financial and technological resources should bear a greater share of the cost of reducing emissions than those who have much less.

l Political viability. A morally praiseworthy climate proposal must have sufficient political support to make it realistic and viable.

Structural Dimensions

l Scientific integrity. Climate policies must be based on the best current science and have the capacity to be revised in light of future scientific findings.

l Sectoral comprehensiveness. An ethically adequate climate policy should spread GHG reduction requirements over all sectors of an economy rather than lay the burden or blame on one or more particular industries.

l International integration. Since the planet's atmosphere does not recognize political boundaries, national climate policies must be consistent with international agreements and be integrated with them.

l Resource sharing. Morally praiseworthy climate proposals should contain mechanisms to transfer resources so that the poor can bear the cost and acquire the technologies necessary to mitigate emissions in the present and adapt to climate change in the future.

l Economic efficiency. Climate policies that achieve the greatest measures of ecological and social well-being at the least economic cost are morally preferred.

Procedural dimensions

l Policy transparency. It is vital that all parties be able to comprehend the impact of a climate policy upon them.

l Emissions verifiability. With several principal greenhouse gases and emission sources spread around the world, climate policies must identify ways to verify emission reductions with confidence and accuracy.

l Political incorruptibility. The auctioning of emission allowances and/or the collection of taxes on GHG emissions will generate fiscal obligations that the rich and powerful will seek to avoid, as well as enormous revenue streams that some will try to misappropriate. Climate policies must not easily be corrupted and abused by the rich and powerful.

l Implementational subsidiarity. While the focus must be on global reductions of greenhouse gas concentrations, better climate policies will empower those closest to the source of the emissions to decide how best to achieve the reductions.

Now that the Copenhagen conference has ended, it is clear that international discussions about climate policy will continue in 2010. I hope policy makers will consider these and other ethical guidelines as they formulate a legally binding agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

James B. Martin-Schramm is a professor of religion at Luther College in Decorah. He also is the research chair in Luther's Center for Ethics and Public Life.