A philosophy book on climate change sounds doubly heavy going, but the Quakers’ site ‘The Friend’ does indeed give a friendly guide to The Ethics of the Climate Crisis, by Robin Attfield:
Here is the book you have been waiting for. It is a very readable account of the science involved, together with estimates of climatic effects on all living things, including humans, and an examination of the ethical and moral questions that confront us as the world heats up. Robin Attfield, a Quaker and a university philosopher, gives a concise but detailed account…
Here’s a very listenable Book Tube review asking Is Climate Justice Achievable? Ethics of the Climate Crisis by Robin Attfield Book Review
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And to dive into the philosophy, but not too heavily, is a piece from the latest edition of Philosophy Now on The Ethics of the Climate Crisis by Robin Attfield:
Robin Attfield, an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Cardiff University and a key figure in environmental ethics, begins The Ethics of the Climate Crisis (2024) by laying out in clear, quantitative detail why the climate, pollution, and biodiversity crises require our urgent attention. As he says, the IPCC has warned that we have only until 2025 – this year! – if we are to have a chance of keeping global temperatures to a 1.5°C rise. But the book’s central concern is how those responsible for the detrimental impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution can be held to account on the basis of an agreed set of ethical principles, for the benefit of present and future humans and other species…
Undoubtedly, Attfield is right that we need laws that force us to pivot away from where we are presently heading. However, the considerations of international bodies have as yet had very little impact on the suffering of people on the ground in current conflicts, and greenwashing and eco-obfuscation continue apace. Attfield deals with the paralysing impacts of fear, among other emotions, as well as their motivating impetus. Characteristically, though, he leaves us with a note of hope. The Ethics of the Climate Crisis is itself a project to raise awareness, and to offer practical solutions that are grounded in firm philosophical foundations.
So, then, perhaps giving England’s rivers legal rights by asking “Is a river alive?” might be one practical way forward as we tackle the climate crisis…
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