Towards a Practical Climate Ethics: Combining Two Approaches to Guide Ethical Decision-Making in Concrete Climate...

Area of Science:

• Environmental ethics
• Climate governance
• Decision-making theory

Background:

• Existing climate ethics frameworks lack context specificity for local governance.
• Current approaches are not sufficiently pluralistic to address diverse local needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate existing climate ethics frameworks for local governance.
• To propose alternative methodologies for practical climate ethics.
• To develop a pluralistic framework for ethical decision-making in climate governance.

Main Methods:

• Review of leading conceptual frameworks in climate ethics research.
• Presentation of principlism as a mid-level principles methodology.
• Introduction of environmental pragmatism as a practical ethical approach.

Main Results:

• Leading climate ethics approaches are insufficient for concrete local governance.
• Principlism and environmental pragmatism provide a more suitable framework.
• The proposed framework integrates real-world conditions into ethical analysis.

Conclusions:

• Principlism and environmental pragmatism offer a novel, pluralistic approach to climate ethics.
• This framework enhances ethical decision-making in local climate governance.
• Integrating context and real-world conditions is crucial for effective climate action.