As of: March 13, 2024, 3:25 p.m
By: Florian Naumann
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The Ethics Council also sees climate change as a justice problem.
It is not enough just to be ashamed of flying and to deliberately reach for the product shelf.
Berlin - Climate change will bring difficult questions of justice, put a strain on weaker people in particular, and in any case currently requires "moral heroism" - and cannot be overcome with private consumption decisions alone: The German Ethics Council issued these sometimes drastic warnings to politicians in Germany on Wednesday (March 13th). dictated into the block.
The committee presented 13 specific recommendations at the federal press conference.
Last but not least, the Ethics Council warned against shifting the fight against climate change onto the shoulders of individual people, for example through purchasing decisions or mobility decisions.
In other words: the climate issue cannot be solved with flight shame and regional food alone.
The Ethics Council made politicians responsible – but also companies and individuals.
Recently, threatening calculations about the level of global warming had increased.
Politicians have a duty when it comes to climate change – but everyone should help
“The climate crisis will bring us into the most difficult challenges and ethical considerations,” warned Ethics Council boss Alena Buyx.
Overcoming this is “a question of justice.” Last but not least, the Ethics Council called for a fair distribution of burdens in the fight against climate change.
Ethics Council Chairwoman Alena Buyx on Wednesday at the presentation of the climate justice statement.
© IMAGO/M.
Popov
She emphasized that state and collective actors must be held more responsible.
However, this does not release anyone from their personal obligation to cooperate - within the scope of their own possibilities.
The Ethics Council recommends that the conflicts and possible costs of climate change and how to combat them be discussed more precisely in public.
“And all of this has to happen as quickly as possible,” demanded Buyx.
However, the members were not entirely in agreement: There was also a special vote in the Ethics Council report on climate justice.
The Ethics Council’s 13 climate justice demands – abridged
More public debate about climate change, climate justice and a “good, successful life in a sustainable and climate-neutral society”.
Communicate material and “intangible” costs of climate protection openly and distribute them fairly.
Overall concept for climate protection measures - including techniques for CO₂ removal, but with consideration for their consequences for future generations.
Adhere to the Paris climate protection goals, but while maintaining fairness within society (e.g. through CO₂ price reimbursements or high prices for climate-damaging products).
Don't just place responsibility on individuals, but support it with clear legal rules.
Individuals should reflect and adapt their behavior beyond legal rules.
Open, fair and transparent debate about climate change and its consequences.
The democratically elected institutions must decide, and protests must also follow democratic rules.
The media and politics should debate objectively - alarmism should be avoided, positive things should be taken into account, and things that are not technically well-founded should not receive too much attention.
The health system must (be able to) prepare for climate change with the necessary resources.
International cooperation is necessary.
Germany must advocate for agreements and compliance with them.
The industrialized countries must support the global south.
Measures must be independently verified.
International cooperation is intended to limit the impact of “free rider” states on the climate.
In the interests of fairness between generations, action should be taken quickly.
“Instruments” must be developed that incorporate the needs of young and future generations into decision-making.
Climate change puts greater strain on “people with less money” – Ethics Council calls for response
The Ethics Council emphasizes that the needs of those most affected by climate change should be given priority.
Justice must be taken into account within society, internationally and also between generations.
“People with less money contribute less to climate change on average, but are burdened more,” said Ethics Council member Kerstin Schlögl-Flierl.
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“People contribute to climate change in very different ways – that alone raises major questions of justice.”
Kerstin Schlögl-Flierl, spokeswoman for the “Climate Ethics” working group in the German Ethics Council.
Climate protection measures should therefore be checked for reasonableness for people who are worse off and compensated for if necessary - for example through a flat rate per capita reimbursement from CO₂ pricing.
As another variant, the Ethics Council mentioned disproportionate price surcharges for products that are particularly harmful to the climate.
In this way, they could also be made less attractive for “financially strong people”.
Ethics Council sees climate change as a question of justice – globally and between generations
The Ethics Council also looked beyond Germany's borders.
The countries of the global south have historically contributed less to climate change, but are now suffering more from the effects.
The burden should be distributed in such a way that the minimum requirements for goods that make a good life possible are not fallen short of.
This also applies to future generations.
“Young people and people who have not even been born yet will have to endure drastic climate consequences in the future, which were mainly caused now and in the past,” explained Schlögl-Flierl.
The interests of future generations must therefore be taken into account today.
“Moral heroism” in climate change
The fair distribution of responsibility for climate protection measures is “primarily a state task.” Politics must shape “social conditions and legal frameworks” in such a way that “low-emission behavior is possible without unreasonable personal or corporate burdens and that burdens are distributed fairly.” the Ethics Council.
New laws are needed “to make it easier for individuals to act in a climate-friendly manner.”
But “every person” also has “the moral responsibility to contribute to the fight against climate change and, if possible and reasonable, to change their own way of life,” emphasized Armin Grunwald from the Ethics Council.
“Otherwise, freedom today comes at the expense of the freedom of others.
At the expense of the global south and future generations.” However, individual climate-friendly actions are often “difficult or unreasonable” and require “moral heroism” because there are often no alternatives.
Democracy remains untouchable in the face of climate change – critics miss statement about “Germany as an industrial nation”
However, the Ethics Council also made one thing clear: “Demands to override democratic freedoms and processes in order to implement the measures necessary for lower-emission action in a technocratic or even eco-dictatorial manner must be firmly rejected,” says the statement.
But there was also criticism - for example in view of another German "institution" and its role in the transformation process.
The Bayreuth philosophy professor Rudolf Schüßler saw Germany's status as a “leading industrial nation” in the Ethics Council statement.
A question that is likely to be “important for many citizens” is: “Does this role have to be given up in order to enable the lifestyle that the Council recommends?” (
AFP/fn
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