Climate Change and Health

Abstract

Climate change, a stochastic and cryptic global crunch, has been confronted through piecemeal rather than holistic approaches. It is a bioethics problem because it harms everyone and involves health, values, and responsibilities. Coupling and understanding the ethical concerns related to climate change and health are complex due to the inherent uncertainties and complexities. Compensation, responsibility, and justice as they relate to climate change and health raise ethical questions that require in-depth considerations while taking into account the diversity of stakeholders interested in them. The question on who is responsible for climate change and who should meet the costs of health challenges as a result of climate change eludes honest collective and shared responsibility responses. Considering the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, those who have the ability to prevent or alleviate harm suffered by others and are in a position to do so without sacrificing a greater value than what is rescued have a moral duty to act. It is ethically difficult and complex to determine exactly what is unfair and unjust in the distribution of the negative consequences and the benefits of actions that cause climate change. Issues of costs incurred on health raise fundamental ethical questions especially if the costs overburden vulnerable populations. A pro rata compensation scheme should be mooted so that those countries that contribute the least to climate change could be accorded the greatest share of compensation. The manner in which raw materials for biotechnological advancement are harvested or extracted from the environment and how this, though at a microscale, could have a far-reaching cumulative impact on climate change and health has not been quantified and raises ethical concerns. This could be a novel frontier for further consideration as questions arise on whether technologies applied in climate change adaptation and mitigation have any health impacts on the beneficiaries and the environment.