Treibhauseffekt und Zukunftsverantwortung

The article asseess several options with respect to climate change from an ethical (mostly welfare-ethical) point of view and determines our moral obligations in this respect. The options analysed are: business as usual, stabilisation of greenhouse gas emissions at the level of 1990, reduction of emissions by 25% and by 60%. The methodology is to welfarise the various social consequences (e.g. casualities by reduced food production, land losses, spreading of infectious diseases, hot spells, ecologic wars etc.) of these options in terms of changes in well-being and then to apply welfare-ethical evaluation criteria. The morally best of these options is strong reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, on this basis our moral obligations are determined on the basis of a new, implementation oriented criterion of moral obligations.