The Ethics of Climate Change

The question pertaining to climate change is an ethical one. Interests among differing people conflict leaving the question, "What Should We Do about climate change?" up in the air. There is no denying that the benefits of the present generation will be the hardships of future generations. Although the question of climate change is an ethical one, the question also relates to economics and the money market. The costs of climate change can be evaluated using the ethical basis of cost-benefit economics. The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, written by Nicholas Stern and his colleagues at the UK, concludes that the cost of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases would be far less than the benefits that would be gained. However, some economists do not see the issue of climate change in an ethical view. Nordhaus of Yale University uses a lower "discount rate" in which the value of future goods are less than present ones. Future goods are discounted based on the logic that the more goods you have, the less valuable are further goods. The discount rate must consider ethical issues. After all, we are talking about the lives of millions in the future.

There are some philosophers who believe we should care more about people who live close to us in time than those who live in the distant future. This position is called pure discounting. Pure discounting makes for a high discount rate. Moral philosophy has to be considered when talking about climate change. Stern concludes, "the world urgently needs to take strong measures to control climate change change." Some economists object to Stern's ethical stance. However, how can the well-being of future generations be determined by money markets? Markets determine values by people's tastes. The well-being of future generations is not determined by tastes. The money market cannot be the deciding factor in declaring the value of future well-being. Debate and deliberation among economists must be involved when answering the question of climate change. John Broome states, "Once we have made our decisions through the democratic process, society can act. That is the job of economists." Economists are not the final mediators of the democratic process. They can only recommend and argue their stance. Climate change raises ethical issues, therefore the question "What Should We Do Now?" must be based on ethical judgments or else the effects to future generations caused by climate change will be catastrophic.