Ethics and Climate Change

Lanza Foundation, Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change CMCC and Observa – Science in Society organize the VI International Conference on Ethics and Environmental Policies, titled Ethics and Climate Change. Scenarios for Justice and Sustainability. It will be held in Padua from the 23rd to the 25th of October 2008. http://www.webethics.net/padova2008/ Motivated by the awareness of the urgency and complexity of the challenges presented by climate change and its interaction with social systems, the Conference intends to offer to the international debate its contribution in identifying possible solutions to deal with the consequences of the changing climate. Global warming issues require our societies to change their organizational and development models. These changes imply a reconsideration of individual and collective behaviours and lifestyles. The challenge posed by climate change highlights serious risks, but also great opportunities! It can represent the lever on which to build a sustainable society able to perpetuate itself and guarantee a future to coming generations through a progressive reduction of our footprint on the planet and a better social and economic justice at local and global level. The Conference sessions want to promote interactions and a profitable dialogue among science, ethics, and politics on those values and principles necessary to guide transformations at political, economic, and social level. In particular, ethical criteria, equal and shared, and useful to be introduced at the International negotiations for the post-Kyoto agreement, will be investigated and identified. Which justice and equity criteria shall guide economic and political decisions for the next post-Kyoto international judicial agreements? How to divide, among Developing Countries, the fallouts of mitigation and adaptation policies, and the costs to implement such measures? What level of responsibility are the rich Northern Countries willing to assume? How can changes in behaviours and lifestyles be perceived as improvements in the quality of life? These are only few of the questions that are, already, at the core of the international public debate. Learning to share costs and responsibilities is a crucial step in the promotion of new scenarios of justice and sustainability dealing with future climate change challenges. To deal with such impellent and crucial issues the Conference Scientific Committee has identified and invited high-level and well-known international speakers expert in diverse disciplines. Program Call for Paper Scientific Committee PROGRAM Thursday October 23, 2008 Evening 20.45-23.00pm Public debate Opening Session Science, Ethics and Politics Facing Climate Change Round table with: Antonio Autiero, University of Münster (Germany), Fondazione Lanza Scientific Committee (Italy) Antonio Navarra, Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change (Italy) Wolfgang Sachs, Wuppertal Institute (Germany) Carlo Carraro, ENI – Enrico Mattei Foundation, CMCC (Italy) Friday October 24, 2008 Morning 9.00-13.00 Greetings from Authorities, Opening speech First Plenary Session: The Changing Climate Chairman: ANTONIO NAVARRA (CMCC) Impacts on Global Environment MICHAEL GLANTZ (NCAR, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, USA) Impacts on Societies and Strategies for Adaptation and Mitigation CARLO JAEGER (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany) Economic Impacts and Perspectives for Future Development CARLO CARRARO (Fondazione Mattei, CMCC, Italy) Communicating Climate Change AGNES ALLANSDOTTIR (Eurobarometer-Italy, Iceland) Friday October 24, 2008 Afternoon First part: 14.30-16.30 Second Plenary Session: Endangered Human Rights Chairman: HENK TEN HAVE (Division of Ethics of Science and Technology, UNESCO) Climate Change Consequences on Communities and Individuals WOLFGANG SACHS (Wuppertal Institute, Germany) Health Impacts and Implications on Social and Health Policies ROBERTO BERTOLLINI (WHO – Geneva, Switzerland) Ecological Refugees and International Law LAURA WESTRA (Ontario University, Canada) Friday October 24, 2008 Afternoon Second part: 17.00-19.00 Paper / posters session: 1. Science, Climate and Society 2. Ethics, Equity and Sustainability 3. Migration and Adaptation Strategies Saturday October 25, 2008 Morning: 9.00-13.00 Third Plenary Session: Sustainability and Equity: post-Kyoto Ethics and Law Chairman: ANTONIO AUTIERO (University of Münster, Germany) Climate Change Ethical Dimension ROBIN ATTFIELD (Centre of Applied Ethics, Cardiff University, UK) Climate-Changing Emissions Distribution: Criteria for a Shared Justice SIMON CANEY (Magdalen College, Oxford University, UK) Post-Kyoto Justice and Equity: the Point of View of Developing Countries JIAHUA PAN (Research Centre for Sustainable Development, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Beijing, China) For a Fair and Effective Approach to the Negotiations on Climate Change JENNIFER MORGAN (Climate Change Programme E3G – Third generation Environmentalism, Germany) International Post-Kyoto Negotiations: Which Future? CORRADO CLINI (Italian Ministry of Environment, Italy) Saturday October 25, 2008 Afternoon First part: 14.30-16.30 Paper / posters session: 1. Science, Climate and Society 2. Ethics, Equity and Sustainability 3. Migration and Adaptation Strategies Saturday October 25, 2008 Afternoon Second part: 17.00-19.00 Final Session: Spirituality and Religions dailing with Climate Change Issues Conclusions: presentation of the Conference Final Document. CALL FOR PAPERS The initiative is directed to representatives from Universities and Research Centers, Local, National and International Institutions, Business Sectors, NGOs and Environmental Associations, Churches and Civil Society, Press and Media. We ask for papers and preformed paper panels pertaining to all aspects of the Conference issue. Interdisciplinary approaches and best practice examples are especially welcome. To facilitate paper presentation, proposals are encouraged to focus on the following topics (keywords are suggested): 1. Science, Climate, and Society: climatic change and scientific expectations, scientific uncertainty and political action, social impacts, lifestyles, participation, new technology, global environment; 2. Ethics, Equity, and Sustainability: climate change, International community, and International law, climate change and responsible subjects (state, local authorities, enterprises, civil society), climate change and ethics, religions and sustainability; 3. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies: education, lifestyles, health and social dimensions, economic and entrepreneurial dimensions, prevention and emergencies, environmental refugees. The proposals should also try to deals with the following conceptual dualities: a) Analysis/conflicts; b) Scenarios/creativity; c) Best practices/facts Each Session will feature at most 10 presentations, strictly limited to a maximum of 20 minutes each, with time for questions and discussion. ABSTRACTS (30-60 lines in English) for papers and posters must be sent by JULY 15, 2008.Please include a title, your name, institutional affiliation, contact and information. Proposals will be examined by the Conference Scientific Committee. All abstracts selected will be notified not later than JULY 30, 2008. Not chosen proposals could be presented under a panel format. FINAL PAPERS will have to be sent and received by SEPTEMBER 15, 2008. Paper format: 10 pages maximum (20,000 characters / 2,000-character page) in English. SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Antonio Autiero, Università di Münster; Gianluigi Brena S.J., Centro Aloisianum; Luciano Butti, Università di Padova Angelo Ferro, Università di Verona; Luigi Fusco Girard, Università Federico II, Napoli; Matteo Mascia, Coordinatore del Progetto Etica e Politiche Ambientali, Fondazione Lanza; Simone Morandini, Coordinatore del Progetto Etica, Filosofia e Teologia, Fondazione Lanza; Antonio Navarra, Presidente del Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici; Renzo Pegoraro, Segretario Generale della Fondazione Lanza; Giuseppe Pellegrini, Università di Padova, Associazione Observa-Science in Society; Karl-Ludwig Schibel, Coordinatore Alleanza per il Clima, Italia For more information Dr. Lucia Mariani, Dr. Matteo Mascia Ethics and Environmental Policies Project Fondazione Lanza Via Dante, 55 – 35139 Padova Tel&fax +39 049 8756788 Sito web: http://www.webethics.net/padova2008/it/.