STATEMENTS FROM
THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FORUM
for the 14th
session of the
COMMISSION ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(New York, 1-12 May
2006)
|
ENERGY
AIR POLLUTION
ETHICS AND THE ENERGY CHALLENGE
Statement prepared
for the 14th session
of the
Commission on Sustainable
Development
by the International
Environment Forum
(New York, 1-12 May 2006)
Energy is
essential for life, for the functioning of the biosphere, and for human
civilization. With anything so fundamental as energy, there are
inevitably moral and ethical issues surrounding its distribution and
use.
There are four
main sources of energy on this planet: solar energy radiated to us from
the sun; the energy of radioactive decay, including all the heat
escaping from the earth's interior; tidal energy from the gravitational
interaction of the earth and the moon; and the solar energy captured by
life in the past and stored as fossil fuels.
Our present
material, industrial and technological civilization discovered,
exploited and is driven by the energy from fossil fuels, a limited
capital stock inherited from the past. This short-term source of cheap
and concentrated energy has distorted the material development of our
economy, agriculture, technologies, trade, habitat and consumer
lifestyle, creating a dependence on high energy consumption that cannot
be maintained with long-term sustainable alternatives. The human
population itself has been able to undergo a remarkable expansion
because historically cheap energy allowed us to overcome many of the
barriers to planetary carrying capacity in the short term.
Today, while
energy consumption is still accelerating, we are approaching the limits
of exploitable fossil fuels, producing an inevitable rise in the costs
of extraction. At the same time, the release of greenhouse gases linked
to fossil fuel use is triggering climate change, imposing massive costs
on the economy and putting millions of vulnerable people at risk. We
are addicted to cheap energy, but the end of cheap fossil based energy
is in sight. Like the thoughtless heir to a fortune, we are spending
recklessly until there will be nothing left.
The ethical
dimensions of this dilemma are frightening. The wealthy fraction of the
world's population has been and is benefiting most from access to this
cheap energy source, while the poor are most vulnerable to the
consequences of both climate change and the growing instabilities of an
economy and society under stress. As we reach both planetary and energy
limits, the risks of major disruptions to societies are increasing .
It is urgent to
begin phasing out the use of fossil fuels and to moderate our
dependence on energy by becoming more efficient in its use. There are
many potential technologies and alternative systems that can tap into
the flows of renewable energy, which alone can assure long-term
sustainability. Future civilization will need to develop all the
available sources of energy on the surface of the planet, but these
diffuse sources will support very different technologies and lifestyles
from those encouraged by the concentrated energy supplies of today.
The transition
will be difficult and challenging. It threatens fundamental national
interests, political and economic structures, agricultural and
industrial systems, and the infrastructure reflected in our present use
of space and resources. More fundamentally, it removes our ability to
use cheap energy to compensate for our excessive use of other resources
like water and soil fertility, and to redistribute goods and services
around the planet. With so many powerful and vested interests involved,
the potential for conflict is considerable.
The only
solution is to unite in the search for just and equitable solutions to
the energy challenge, ensuring that the costs and benefits are fairly
distributed at the planetary level and across all segments of the world
population, with special attention to the most vulnerable. New global
institutions and systems of governance will be necessary to prevent
conflict in the sharing of increasingly scarce energy resources. New
technologies, transport systems and patterns of human settlements will
be required to adapt to alternative sustainable sources of energy.
More generally,
sustainability requires that we redefine the goals of development away
from an excessive energy-subsidized material civilization towards a
more knowledge-based social, cultural, scientific and spiritual
civilization where the energy that counts the most is that of human
creativity, exchange and innovation. The challenges of such a rapid and
fundamental transformation of our society can only be met with unity of
thought and action.
AIR POLLUTION - A BROADER PERSPECTIVE
Statement prepared
for the 14th session
of the
Commission on Sustainable
Development
by the International
Environment Forum
(New York, 1-12 May 2006)
We cannot live
more than a few minutes without air. We must breathe whatever air is
available around us, regardless of its quality. The fragile inner
surface of the lungs where oxygen passes into the bloodstream and
carbon dioxide is given off is particularly sensitive to toxins and
irritants. Air pollution is thus of immediate concern to every human
being.
Apart from those
who voluntarily pollute their own air through smoking, most air
pollution is inflicted by others, usually without recourse or
compensation. It therefore goes against such universal moral precepts
as the golden rule to do unto others as you would have others do unto
you, and in theory should be punishable by law in most states if the
guilty source could be identified. However since air quality usually
reflects the sum of many diffuse sources, identifying the responsible
party is difficult, and since almost everyone undertakes activities
that release pollutants, we are all collectively responsible as well.
Different types
of air pollutants reflect distinct ethical challenges. Air pollution
from industrial sources is a significant problem in most countries.
Since these are usually identifiable point sources, they are relatively
easy to regulate. Several approaches are available to industry:
pollution prevention through changes in operating practices, improved
and preventive maintenance, or changes in raw materials; building good
air pollution control systems into new or modified production
processes; improving or replacing air pollution control systems
in existing facilities; and reducing air pollution and improving energy
efficiency through process change. The industry must weigh the cost of
these measures, reflected directly in its balance sheet, against the
benefits to the public for which it receives no return apart from the
temporary good will that comes when a nuisance has been abated. While a
responsible business will implement all reasonable measures to avoid
harm to others, unscrupulous operators will simply hope that their
emissions are unnoticed or untraceable.
Government
experience in the development and implementation of air pollution
prevention or reduction suggests that the multi-stakeholder cooperative
approach has long range benefits, with government, industry, and NGOs
agreeing on requirements with support and advice from technical and
health experts, adopting an implementation time line, and undertaking
periodic reviews and assessments of implementation progress. Where the
government is honest and efficient, the businesses trustworthy, and the
NGOs altruistic in their representation of the public interest, this
works well.
The air
pollution created by multiple small sources, whether motor vehicle
exhausts, home and building heating systems, or agricultural wastes,
can only be controlled by changes in consumer behaviour and in product
technologies. There is often a circular debate whether consumer demand
should lead to new products, or whether business should develop less
polluting products and educate the consumers in their desirability.
This usually reflects the morally questionable desire to pass the
responsibility for change off to someone else while profiting from the
status quo. Reinforcing ethical behaviour and strengthening corporate
responsibility can thus strengthen action to reduce air pollution.
Another and
quite different air pollution challenge is the indoor air pollution of
the poor. Over half of people in developing countries still rely on
biofuels, including wood, dung and agricultural wastes, for cooking and
heating, most of which is burnt indoors. Between 10 per cent and 20 per
cent of the fuel used is not fully burnt, releasing a wide range of
harmful air-borne pollutants at concentrations one or two orders of
magnitude above safe limits. Globally, indoor air pollution of fine
particles from fuels like charcoal is ranked in the top ten causes of
mortality, causing up to 2.4 million premature deaths a year from
respiratory problems and heart attacks (GEO Year Book 2006
http://www.unep.org/geo/yearbook/). Ethically this is a problem of
poverty and should be addressed as part of any poverty reduction
strategy. In the short term, simple improvements in clean-burning stove
technology and household ventilation can help. Making clean and
affordable energy available to every family should be a high priority.
Today, air
pollution, whether the debilitating smog of urban areas, the "brown
cloud" over Asia that is blocking so much sunlight as to affect
agriculture, or the smoke people are obliged to breathe in their own
homes, symbolizes the general failure of the major actors in society,
including every individual, to take responsibility for the
environmental and human health effects of their actions, often imposed
far away. Any action strategy for air pollution control should
therefore include a public education component. The freedom to breathe
clean air should be seen as an inalienable human right and be defended
accordingly.
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updated 8 May 2006