Ethics and Sustainability analysis

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Climate change is already happening. World temperatures have increased at a rapid rate since the advent of the industrial era. There is overwhelming scientific evidence linking the rise in temperature to increases in the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the Earths atmosphere. When the climate behaves differently from its usual or natural state, then it is called climate change. Climate change has far reaching implications for business, economic growth and environmental sustainability and some important ethical issues are involved with climate change. Many of the worlds poorest people and fragile ecological systems are already being forced to adapt to dangerous climate change. All these impacts of climate change into the life, livelihood and overall sustainability as well as ethical issues will be discussed in the following writing.

1. Linkage between climate change and sustainability

It has been argued from the sustainability viewpoint that the global atmosphere might be significantly disturbed due to the increasing anthropogenic (man-made) emissions and accumulations of GHGs (UNFCCC 1993). Sustainability will be determined on several factors, including (Munasinghe 2001): Intensity of climate change (e.g., frequency and magnitude of shocks); Vulnerability of the system (e.g., extent of impact damage); and Resilience of system (e.g., impact recovering ability).

The stability of a well range of physical, ecological and social systems as well as subsystems could well be threatened by the global climate change, stated by intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC 1996). Vulnerability of social values and institutions, which are already under stress due to rapid technological changes, will increase due to climate change, needs proper attention for sustainability. The basic glue that binds communities together is undermined by the erosion of social capital within developing countries (Munasinghe 2001). Sustainability will be impacted as changes in climate patterns interact with pre-existing social and economic vulnerabilities. Some of the notable impacts are: Reduced agricultural productivity- Climate change scenarios point to large losses in productivity for food staples linked to drought and rainfall variation in parts of subSaharan Africa and South and East Asia

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Heightened water insecurity- Accelerated glacial melt in the Himalays will compound already severe ecological problems across northern China, India and Pakistan, initially increasing floods before reducing the flow of water to major river systems vital for irrigation.

Increased exposure to coastal flooding and extreme weather events- The IPCC (1996) forecasts, an increase in extreme weather events. Droughts and floods are already the main drivers of a steady increase in climate-related disasters.

The collapse of ecosystems- Coral reef systems, already in decline, would suffer extensive threat leading to the transformation of marine ecologies, with large losses of biodiversity and ecosystems.

Increased health risks- Climate change will impact on human health at many levels causing threat to sustainable health.

Due to fragile nature of the existing international mechanisms and systems, it will be difficult for them to cope with worsening impacts of climate change.

2. Main ethical issues relevant to climate change

Before examining the ethical dimensions of climate change, it is obvious to have a realization that (Brown 2012): Many civilization challenging ethical questions have been created by human-induced warning As no nation can justify its response to climate change on the basis of self-interest alone, this understanding has great importance for climate change policy options Climate change policies have been framed by scientific and economic arguments ignoring the ethical questions since its beginning in the early 1980s. Without having a just global solution to climate change, it will not likely to be arose or accepted The harshest sufferers of climate change impacts will be the millions of poor people, and Most mainstream scientists have admitted that the world is running out of time to prevent climate change. Keeping in mind these realizations some major ethical issues related to climate change are:

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Some high emitting nations and individuals in some parts of the world are putting some poor people in other parts of the world at great risk. To the most vulnerable, these potential harms are not just mere inconveniences, but catastrophic threats to life and natural resources on which life depends. The victims of climate change cannot petition the government to protect their hopes and demands due to global scope of the problem that high emitters will greatly reduce their emissions based on ethical responsibilities.

The ethical dimension of climate change has not been debated as such in spite of it being an ethical problem. The press and even some of the NGOs participating in the debate have acknowledged this fact (Brown 2012). Climate change becomes more an ethical issue with the deeper the understanding of the scientific issues raised by climate change such as what amount of warming will lead catastrophic climate changes. One of the important ethical dilemmas is the uncertainty of determining the most responsible entities to take action for its mitigation. The obvious ethical dilemma is that different generations cannot influence one another reciprocally as they do not share the same time horizon as argued by the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST 2010). Since we undoubtedly have to respect the dignity and well being of the future generations as much as we do our own, another ethical uncertainty emerges while considering the interests of future generations. Another important ethical uncertainty arises in determining the action minimally required to put the next generation no worse than ours since it is very easy for the current generations to make no sacrifices at all for the sake of future generations (COMEST 2010).

3. Critical implications of climate change for business The implications of climate change will vary across business sectors. Some will be less affected while some will be more affected than others, creating both business challenges and opportunities. A wide range of adaptation measures can be implemented to tackle the observed and anticipated climate change. Altering farming practices and crop varieties, building new water reservoirs, enhancing water use efficiency, changing building codes, investing in airconditioning and constructing sea walls are some of such kind of measures (BIAC 2009). The issue of climate change adaptation measures are critical to business as not only the business but

Ethics and Sustainability analysis

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also the markets where they operate will be affected by climate change. Some of the implications and necessary measures to tackle them are: The whole business sector including the SMEs will be exposed to risks due to climate change. Thats why education on thee state of knowledge is needed to understand the exposure and address these risks. Climate change should be taken into account as part of long-term investment decisions, such as infrastructure development, water provision and industrial installations (BIAC 2009). Climate change will hit business more where the economic basis is fragile. So there should be sound economic basis and strategies to tackle the impacts of climate change. Without having a proper analysis of costs and benefits of adaptations in key business sectors, climate change is likely to affect more. Attention is needed to be given for sectors such as water resources, energy producers and consumers, infrastructure, and tourism where information on the costs of such measures is very limited. New business opportunities can be created while implementing adaptation policies in response to climate change as business responds to new market opportunities. Business should therefore consider the forward looking strategic planning. In view of the broad based impacts of climate change, a public-private partnership (PPPs) that includes business where necessary have the potential to optimize resources (BIAC 2009). As the impacts of climate change are likely to be large on business sectors, the establishment of an adaptation fund for developing countries by the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol of the UNFCCC to finance concrete adaptation projects and programs is needed. Climate change has implications for business beyond short term weather impacts and therefore incorporated in long term business planning and strategies. Leading companies have already started to begin considering the impacts as part of evaluations of climate risks, but more attention is needed. There is a need for further research to specify the costs and benefits for adaptation measures as well clear economic information is needed while considering such measures. International cooperation will be essential in respect of cross-border implications.

4. Ethical and sustainable response to the climate change problem

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The 35th General Conference of UNESCO in November 2009 in Copenhagen adopted a resolution that called on the Director General to submit a report on the desirability of preparing a draft declaration of ethical principles in relation to climate change (Sarabhai 2010 4:155). A few months earlier, a background report to UNESCO was submitted by COMEST on the Ethical Implications of Global Climate Change. Ethics isnot something added on top of other issues related to climate change, but rather a constitutive part of all of the reasonably justifiable responses to the challenges of climate change. Therefore climate change cannot be dealt adequately and properly if the ethical dimensionare not highlighted, well understood and taken into account in decisions about responses as stressed by the report (COMET 2010). We need an ethical perspective based on wide understanding and basic agreement on key principles for a global sustainable development challenge like climate change. For this reason, we need a significant articulation of world-accepted values something like the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Sarabhai 2010). The UNFCCC and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) are two major conventions stemming from the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 in search for such framework of world accepted values. But both these conventions dealt with ethical principals in the context of specific challenges and issues (Sarabhai 2010). Many felt a need for a statement that would deal with the ethics of sustainability as a whole at the earth summit. In response to promote the transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework that includes respect and care for the community life, ecological integrity, universal rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace, the Earth Charter Initiative was set. The Charter was developed through a fiveyear widely consultative drafting process that started in 1995 which was launched finally on 29 June 2000 (Sarabhai 2010). The Earth Charter preamble start with, We stand at a critical moment in Earths history, a time when humanity must choose its future. The future at once holds great peril and great promise as the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile. We must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny to move forward. It is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations (Earth Charter Preamble in Sarabhai 2010). UNESCO adopted a resolution recognizing the Earth Charter as an important ethical framework for sustainable development

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in response to climate change during its 32nd General Conference in October 2003. These precautionary conventions and principles argue that lack of scientific certainty about climate change effects should not become a basis for inaction, especially where relatively low cost steps are involved to mitigate climate change and could be undertaken as a form of insurance (Munasighe 2001).

Conclusion
The UNFCCC (1993) itself acknowledges through an injunction to protect the climate system on the basis of equity and in accordance with common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. We live in a deeply divided world. Extremes of poverty and prosperity retain the power to shock. Differences in religious and cultural identification are a source of tension between countries and people. Competing nationalisms pose threats to collective security. Against this backdrop, climate change provides a hard lesson in a basic fact of human life: we share the same planet.

Ethics and Sustainability analysis

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References
BIAC (2009) Adaptation to Climate Change. Key Considerations for Business. Available at http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001881/188198e.pdf Brown, D. (2012) Ethics and Climate. Why Climate Change Must Be Seen Essentially An Ethical Problem and What Practical Differences Follow From This. Available at http://blogs.law.widener.edu/climate/2012/07/19/why-climate-change-must-be-seen-essentiallyan-ethical-problem-and-what-practical-differences-follow-from-this/ COMEST (2010) The Ethical Implications of Global Climate Change, UNESCO. Available at http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001881/188198e.pdf IPCC (1996) Climate Change 1995: Impacts, Adaptations and Mitigation of Climate Change, Watson, R.T., et al., (Eds.) Cambridge University Press, London. Munasighe, M. (2001) Sustainable development and climate change: applying the sustainomics transdisciplinary meta-framework. Int. J. Global Environmental Issues, Vol.1,No.1, University of Colombo. Available at http://www.gtinitiative.org/documents/IJGEnvIVol1-CcSd-2001.pdf Sarabhai, KV. (2010) An Ethical Framework for a Sustainable World. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development,SAGE. Available at http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/invent/images/uploads/Ethical%20Framework.pdf UNFCCC (1993) Framework Convention on Climate Change: Agenda 21, United Nations, New York.