Debate topic - climate change and our moral obligation to act.

by lindseyylovess (student)

What is a moral obligation? By the legal dictionary definition, a moral obligation is a duty which one owes, and which he ought to perform, but which he is not legally bound to fulfill. Our first contention is that justice is the standard that should establish liability. Standard principals of justice indicate that those responsible for harm take action to redress that harm… to right what is wrong. Did our parents not teach us all that when we were young? Nick Gier (prof. of philosophy at Emertius U. Idaho) states that a simple moral truth is that if you injure people or directly affect their livelihoods, then they are owed compensation. The National climate ethics campaign says this... “As a matter of justice and equality, we have a moral obligation to reduce our carbon pollution in order to prevent suffering and death among people who have contributed little to climate change, but who are, at least initially, most impacted”.

And who are we initially affecting? Is it the developed countries who are profiting off of the carbon pollution? Our leaders in the economy? Or world super-powers with the big banks? No. We’re hurting the under-developed countries. Nicolas Stern of the scientific commons states that “all countries will be affected by climate change, but it is the poorest countries that will suffer earliest and most.” This marks our second contention is that developed countries are primarily responsible for carbon emissions, and should lead the way to a brighter future. Do we not remember How the Untied States lead the ...