A Climate of Inaction: Limitations of a Relational Understanding of Morality

Abstract

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the only way to mitigate the consequences of climate change. In spite of this knowledge, curing the world’s addiction to fossil fuels has proven to be A herculean task. International agreements are limited in scope, and National governments have failed to enact laws that would sufficiently reduce domestic emissions. in addition, most individuals are hesitant to make THE necessary sacrifices that would reduce personal emissions. While political, economic, and technological factors are the most apparent barr iers to reform, climate change can also be understood as a moral failure. Fr om a psychological standpoint, morality is an emotional belief that stems from Interpersonal relationships. The unprecedented scope of climate change has exposed the limits of the relational understanding of morality. We have been unable to frame our relationship with the biosphere in a manner that elicits a strong enough moral response to lead to decisive action. This paper does not attempt to offer a solution, but hopes instead to reveal the moral implications of climate inaction.