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Identifier

000402931

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Title

Η κλιματική αλλαγή και η ευθύνη μας στις μελλοντικές γεννεές

Alternative Title

Climate change and our responsibility towards future generations

Author

Καλιακάτσου-Παπακώστα, Γλυκερία

Thesis advisor

Κ. Κουκουζέλης

Abstract

Nowadays climate change is one of the most serious problems concerning global society. The climate on the planet earth was never stable but today there is an alarming increase in the planet’s temperature. More and more scientists confirm that the instability we are observing today is due to anthropogenic causes such as industrialization or coal burning. The use of fossil fuel in industry on the one hand helps in energy production so that people can enjoy all the benefits of a comfortable and in many cases luxurious life, but on the other hand puts humanity at great risks as it causes a change in the climate by increasing the concentration of gas in the atmosphere that haw the property of trapping heat. The costs and the benefits of the extensive use of fossil fuel do not concern the same people. The benefits are reaped by modern generations but not all. Only by the inhabitants of the rich and Northern countries while the catastrophic consequences influence the poor developing countries of the South and their future generations. Here is the heart of the moral speculation. Based on this verification, in this project, I will try to show that the change in the climate and its impact on modern and future generations is not only an environmental issue but also an issue of morality and fairness. So after the initial analysis of the above mentioned phenomenon there will be the second part of this project where the climate change will be examined as a moral issue and in the third part it will be examined as a fairness issue. The approach can be characterized as anthropocentric. I consider it as inevitable because since and according to the project theme, we are seeking for the responsibilities of modern generations to future generations and we are talking about the deep and the true meanings of morality and fairness, it is necessary to refer to human actions which men are liable as rational human beings. Men’s interventions may cause Nature destruction but Nature constitutes the necessary condition not only for the existence but also for the free actions of other people. So the ethical relationship between humans and nature cannot be justified regardless to humans, but within the relation between humans. We are trying to ground on the normative principles of duty for the protection of nature from the climate change impacts for the wellbeing of today’s an upcoming generations. The regulatory Authorities bind and direct human actions. The parley of the theme concerns one of the two fields of Bioethics and environmental Bioethics. Through bibliography research we come to the conclusion that the impacts of the climate change are a threat to the fundamental human rights, especially the rights of the future generations. The principles of bioethics found the duty of modern generations to protect and not cause harm to future generations. It would be moral arbitrariness to recognize the duty towards others according to the generation they belong. Through the normative principle of environmental justice it is clear that the duty to future generations does not have to do with ensuring the appropriate environmental conditions but it has to do with much more. It ordains the existence of a quality humanity in the future reserving not only the suffice of the basic needs according to the principle of sustainable development but also reserving the right of a choice. This right means freedom. By crediting future generations with the right for a choice we recognize them as humans capable of making their own legislations free of any compulsion according to the basic normative principles as well as the principle of autonomy. So as not to deprive them from the right to live a good life according to their perception to what a good life means.

Language

Greek

Subject

Autonomy

Climate change

Duty

Environment

Future generations

Human rights

Intergenerational justice

No harm

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