Environmental Ethics

Poverty, resource, environment

• Poverty cycle – result of lack of resource
• Overuse of natural resources may cause poverty (e.g.; Phillipines)
• Poverty and environmental deterioration are mutually reinforcing
Is economic growth conducive to the
environment ?
• No contradiction between growth and environment, inherently
• However, a high rate of growth may associate with high rate of
environmental pollution.
Global environment: Some basic issues
• Global climate change
• Ozone layer depletion
• Acid rains
• Noise pollution
• Pollution of international waters
• Deforestation
• Soil erosion, radioactive pollution
• Loss of valuable species
• Loss of biodiversity
In 1991, World Bank, UNDP, UNEP identified four major global environmental issues: biodiversity,
climate change, depletion of the ozone layer, problems of international waters.

Following actions may be taken :

1. To converse the biological diversity and to fairly and equitably share the benefits of genetic
resources
2. To control and reduce the harmful effects of desertification and deforestation
3. To protect an enhance wetlands
4. To converse and rationally use the marine living resources
5. To protect the endangered species of flora and fauna from over-exploitation
6. To conserve and effectively manage migratory species
7. To protect the ozone layer, and, phase out the ozone depleting substances
8. To stabilize the emission of greenhouse gases
9. To prevent the dumping of hazardous waste
10. To regulate the quantity / quality aspects of international waters
Global inequalities in the management of environmental problems

• Conflict between the interests of DCs & LDCs

• DCs have been given the power to increase the production of CFCs,
under Montreal Protocol.
• LDCs get affected financially to reduce CFC production.
• Polluters must pay !
Climate change and other agents of pollution
• OECD countries generate between 300 and 800 million tons of
hazardous wastes.
• US alone contributes 88% of the above amount.
• Only 10% of the world’s fresh water is polluted in terms of diminished
oxygen content.
Air pollution
Who Report says, each year, more than 2.5 million people die of air-
borne diseases.
For every 1% of loss of ozone, the risk of skin cancer will increase by 6%
(GEO Yearbook, 1997)
Urban areas are more polluted than rural areas.
Environmental pollution in India

• Bhopal Gas Tragedy 1984

• India generates USD 1.5 billion worth of e-waste , 30% of which IT
industry contributes.
• Most of the rivers in Gujarat near chemical corridor are polluted
• Adverse effects of endosulfan on the cashew nut plantation in Kerala
and Karnataka
• Maharashtra is the topmost e-waste producing state followed by
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal,
Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab for total
70% of e-wastes production.
Waste composition in Mysuru and Bengaluru
Social cost of pollution

• Pollution is a negative externality. Economists illustrate the

social costs of production with a demand and supply diagram.
The social costs include the private costs of production
incurred by the company and the external costs of
pollution that are passed on to society.
What are the costs of pollution?
• Outdoor air pollution could cause 6 to 9 million premature deaths a
year by 2060 and cost 1% of global GDP – around USD 2.6 trillion
annually – as a result of sick days, medical bills and reduced
agricultural output, unless action is taken, according to a new OECD
report.
 Ethical issues in environmental pollution/ damage

• Negative environmental externalities impose extra cost on the poor people

who are affected by pollution. Negative externalities lead to market failure
because the market mechanism cannot account for them. As a result, market
price does not show the real worth of a commodity. There are misallocation
of resources.
• As most of the poor people depend on forest for the environmental resources
for their livelihood, it is morally unjust to destroy or damage such resource.
• It is basic human right to enjoy a clean and healthy environment.
Environment pollution creates threat to human health, thus, is unethical.
• Pollution increases cost of production (if the social cost is included) and reduces
the output. Both are socially undesirable.

• Many times, polluters exploit the loopholes in the system and regulatory
capture.

• Environment pollution occurs due to the overuse of natural resources.

• Environment pollution creates a threat to our next generation

• Environment pollution poses threat to ecological balance

• Environment pollution leads to hedonic injustice by distorting the prices of land,

houses, and other habitats.
Management of environment pollution
• Corrective Pigouvian tax may be imposed by the government on the polluter
• What is a Pigouvian Tax?

• It is a special category of taxes levied to neutralize negative externalities such as social

costs of transactions. This is not a tax hike that can generate significant additional
revenues for the government.

• Government regulation may be resorted in 2 cases:

(i) to impose the correct dose of taxation on the polluter and

(ii) merger of polluting firms and the victimized firms
 Examples of Pigouvian tax
Examples of Pigouvian Tax
In India, coal cess or clean environment cess can be regarded as an example of Pigouvian tax.
It is levied by France as a noise tax on aeroplanes at its nine busiest airports.

• A carbon tax is imposed by more than 40 countries on corporations that burn coal, oil, or gas and which produce greenhouse gas
emissions.
• The Netherlands imposed a groundwater tax on drinking water companies in order to preserve clean drinking water for future
generations.
• In Europe, a tax on plastic and paper bags was imposed to encourage consumers to bring their own reusable bags from home to
deter the use of plastic and paper.
The trade-off between environmental quality and growth

• The negative impact of a restrictive environmental policy on economic

growth stems from the additional costs that it imposes on the
production sector.

• The pursued improvement in environmental quality requires a

permanent reduction in the flow of polluting emissions, one of the
implicit or explicit inputs of the production process.
• In countries such as Costa Rica, Malawi, Mali, and Mexico the
soil losses approximate . 5-1.5% of gross domestic product
annually. Progress has been made in water purification, but
there are still nearly 1 million people in the developing world
without access to clean water for drinking and bathing.
COUNTRIES MOST AFFECTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE
• JAPAN (Climate Risk Index: 5.5)
• PHILIPPINES (Climate Risk Index: 11.17)
• GERMANY (Climate Risk Index: 13.83)
• MADAGASCAR (Climate Risk Index: 15.83)
• INDIA (Climate Risk Index: 18.17)
• SRI LANKA (Climate Risk Index: 19)
• KENYA (Climate Risk Index: 19.67)