PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATION OF STEPHEN GARDINER'S CLIMATE ETHICS AND ITS RELEVANCE TO THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

Abstract

Climate scientists and scholars have revealed the danger of an imminent catastrophic global climate change, heralded by global warming, environmental hazards, and the suspected risk of poverty, hunger, and starvation, as a result of increase in Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. These peculiar features of the climate change problem pose substantial obstacles to our ability to make the hard choices necessary to address it. What are the right actions to take? To achieve this, the article made use of philosophical investigation. Thus, climate change involves the convergence of a set of global, intergenerational and theoretical problems. Hence, Gardiner identifies the challenge of climate change that leads to evasion of responsible action as a moral problem, and its global consequences that tend to justify inaction. He argues that an ideal theory needs to evolve to tackle global consequences, and posits that the pursuit of some tenets of what he calls ethic of the transition among which is the precautionary principle is a transitional approach. This study makes Stephen Gardiner's position on climate change and responses championed by the United Nations. The United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, (through various conventions) has called for reduction of GHGs as the most important right action that can save humanity. Upon a final evaluation, this article agrees with Gardiner that climate change is a tremendous moral challenge and that precaution is a provisional viable option. It is in agreement with Kant's position, in the case of climate change, as in other cases, can be avoided by a constant critique of our reasoned act or less reasoned action.