Implementation of the Principle
of Responsibility in Climate Policy
More details
Hide details
1
Wyższa Szkoła Gospodarki Euroregionalnej
im. Alcide De Gasperi w Józefowie
2
Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego
w Warszawie, Wydział Filozofii Chrześcijańskiej, Instytut Ekologii i Bioetyki
Publication date: 2016-06-30
JoMS 2016;29(2):269-282
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Increased energy consumption which commenced in the late twentieth century
as well as its impact on the climate change highlighted important ethical issues
revolving around responsibility for the inflicted damage, obligations towards both
future generations and millions of species living on the planet, or the costs of
mitigation and adaptation.
Natural sciences provide more and more detailed information on the currently
observed climate change. Climate models allow us to forecast changes and predict
their consequences. However, it is yet impossible to answer the question what
should be done about the knowledge about climate change, whether and in what
way we should react to it. What seems of particular importance is the necessity to
take a closer look at the alarming phenomenon through the prism of values and,
especially, our responsibility for the present and future generations. Climate change
is a global problem and it is very difficult to find a political solution to it due to the
fact that its effects have a diverse character and are not immediately discernible. They
constitute a matter of considerable concern which is mostly related to the fact that
the consequences of climate change can significantly affect the entire international
community, irrespective of the place of living or financial status. Proper assessment of
climate change effects and undertaking political action to counteract them constitute
nowadays one of the major world’s development challenges.