Why Stopping Global Warming Is A Moral Issue

Would you say that the implications of climate change are primarily ethical, political, or theological?

A discussion about environmental stewardship on an Adventist blog on MySpace evoked the following comment from a reader of the blog:

This is a common sense issue. If your bedroom is dirty-clean it. If 2 or more are going to the same event-commute. If you see trash laying around outside-pick it up. It just makes sense to care for the environment like we care for our bodies. It also teaches us to respect others, ourselves and our surroundings by simply being aware. As far as theology and the morality of it....really? Why can't it just be about living within your means when you recycle, commute, and not be wasteful of our resources. It is about manners and stewardship and by stewardship I mean staying on a budget. We try too hard to make Christianity work.

The reader seemingly takes issue with the idea that environmental care is an issue of ethics and theology. Is it a stretch to say that ecology and environmentalism is primarily a moral issue? Before writing ecology off as merely political, here are some points worth considering:

1. Throughout Scripture, there are repeated calls to provide justice for the weak, the defenseless, the downtrodden, and the poor. Jesus often described the Kingdom of Heaven in terms of social justice.

• Consider Leviticus 19:10 - Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.

• Consider Isaiah 1:17 - ...learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

• Consider James 1:27 - Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

• Consider Matthew 25:37-40 - Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

2. The affluent citizens of affluent countries are least vulnerable to the adverse affects of climate change. Those hardest hit by the effects of climate change are the poor: the subsistence farmers in developing nations, the herdsmen, the homeless... More frequent, more severe droughts cripple the farmers that rely on rainfall for food. Flooding devastates squatters and homeless living in low-lying regions near waterways (Hurricane Katrina serves as an example of how changing climates wreak havoc particularly on those with little means of escape, and those without recourse.)

• Consider this transcript from a PBS broadcast (originally aired April 6, 2007) citing a report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.* The U.N. panel of scientists from nearly 120 countries around the world suggests that "Countries producing the most greenhouse gases, like the U.S. and China, won't bear the biggest burden of warmer temperatures. Instead, that will fall on poorer countries with fewer resources to adapt. Most of those countries are along the equator."

• Consider this report from the BBC that concludes that the poorest of the poor will be the ones who suffer the most dire consequences of global warming--those with no means to protect themselves from climate change.

• Consider this article in The Independent news agency which states,"Increased drought, crop failure, disease, extreme weather events and sea level rise are all likely to fall much more heavily on struggling populations in Africa, Asia and South America than on the rich industrial societies of Europe, North America and Australia - who have done most to cause global warming through greenhouse gas emissions in the past, and who are best able to afford counter-measures to limit its consequences."

3. As mentioned in the last statement directly above, it is the affluent, prosperous, and industrialized nations of the world that are primarily responsible for the emission of green house gases that have been linked to climate change. The United States leads the world in overall greenhouse gas emissions, while Australia is the per capita world leader, according to figures and statistics provided by Carbon Planet Pty. Ltd., Australia.

To summarize the points above:

1. The wealthiest countries of the world are most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions which are linked to climate change.
2. The people of the wealthiest countries are least susceptible to the effects of climate change.
3. The poorest people of the countries bear the least responsibility for climate change, and yet bear the greatest burden of climate changes' negative effects.
4. Scripture calls for justice on behalf of the poor, the suffering, and the helpless.


Whether that leads you to believe that ecology is primarily about politics, ethics, or religion, clearly, we have reason to act to combat climate change in whatever ways possible.


*Read the IPCC report in PDF format here.