Biography

Studies in philosophy and German language and literature in Zurich and Berlin. 2010 PhD thesis on the ideal of equality of opportunity. 2004-2012 various positions at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Zurich in practical Philosophy. 2009-2019 lecturer for ethics, political philosophy, climate ethics, medical ethics and ethical decision-making at various universities and technical colleges. 2012-2015 post-doc at the Center for Ethics at the University of Zurich. 2010-2018 managing director of the program Advanced Studies in Applied Ethics of the University of Zurich. Since 2018 Professor for Environmental Humanities at the University of Fribourg and since 2019 the director of the UniFR_ESH Institute.

Research and publications

• Publications
  100 publications

  Adaptation limits as sufficiency entitlements of justice
  Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (2025) | Journal article

  Prioritizing climate adaptation limits and trade-offs , in EurSafe2024 Proceedings
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer, Kräuchi S. (2024), ISBN: 978-90-04-71550-9 | Book chapter

  Extending biomedical principlism and the ethical matrix: market farming, water scarcity and climate change , in EurSafe2024 Proceedings
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer (2024), ISBN: 978-90-04-71550-9 | Book chapter

  Setting a Permissible Target for Carbon Dioxide Removal
  Environmental Ethics (2024) | Journal article

  The Ethics of Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer, Clare Heyward, Dominic Lenzi , Schübel Hanna (Frontiers in Climate, 2024) | Book

  L'éthique sur le terrain de l'adaptation aux changements climatique
  Le Climatoscope (2024) | Journal article

  Klimawandel, Biodiversitätsverlust, Nachhaltigkeit und Suffizienzkriterien der Gerechtigkeit
  GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society (2023) | Journal article

  Just Climate Adaptation and Loss and Damage Action in an Emergency
  Le Climatoscope (2023) | Journal article

  Resilience and Nonideal Justice in Climate Loss and Damage Governance
  Global Environmental Politics (2023) | Journal article

  Towards a Practical Climate Ethics: Combining Two Approaches to Guide Ethical Decision-Making in Concrete Climate Governance Contexts
  Ethics, Policy {\&}amp$\mathsemicolon$ Environment (2023) | Journal article

  Auf dem Weg zu einer neuen Strategie: Wie die saguf noch transformativer wird
  GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society (2023) | Journal article

  Synergien zwischen Biodiversitäts-und Klimaschutz für mehr Nachhaltigkeit und Gerechtigkeit
  GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society (2023) | Journal article

  Nachhaltiger Konsum im Rahmen der Gerechtigkeit , in Wege zu einem nachhaltigen Konsum | Vers une consommation durable
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer (2023) | Book chapter

  Stichwort "Berufsethos" , in Zeitschrift für Didaktik der Philosophie und Ethik
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer (2023) | Press article

  Ein Modell zur Zuschreibung individueller Klimaschutzverantwortung , in Responsibilisierung
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer, Schübel Hanna, Heite Catrin, Magyar-Haas Veronika, Schär Clarissa, Wagner Greta (2023) | Book chapter

  Justice in benefitting from carbon removal
  Global Sustainability (2023) | Journal article

  Moralische Verantwortung im Klima- und Umweltschutz
  Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Philosophie - Studia Philosophica (2023) | Journal article

  Adaptation climatique juste et considération des pertes et préjudices en situation d'urgence (translation)
  Le Climatoscope (2023) | Journal article

  The existential risk space of climate change
  Climatic Change (2022) | Journal article

  The existential space of climate change and systemic risks
  Christian Huggel and Laurens M. Bouwer and Sirkku Juhola and Reinhard Mechler and Veruska Muccione and Ben Orlove and Ivo Wallimman-Helmer, (2022) | Preprint

  Justice in Renewable Energy Transitions for Climate Mitigation , in Renewable Energy and the Environment
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Letcher, Trevor (London: Academic Press, 2022) | Book chapter

  Reciprocal climate adaptation responsibilities for agricultural food resilience , in Transforming food systems
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer (2022) | Book chapter

  Cross-Chapter Box Loss and Damage , in IPCC (Hg.) 2022- Climate Change 2022
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer (2022) | Book chapter

  Challenging Our Thinking About Wild Animals with Common-Sense Ethical Principles , in Bruce, Bruce (Hg.) 2022 – Transforming food systems
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer (2022) | Book chapter

  Urban Nature Experiences for Public Health: An Embodied Perspective , in Bruce, Bruce (Hg.) 2022 – Transforming food systems
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer (2022) | Book chapter

  9.13 - Justice in Renewable Energy Transitions for Climate Mitigation , in Comprehensive Renewable Energy, Second Edition: Volume 1-9
  Wallimann-Helmer, I. (2022) | Book chapter

  Liberale Bildungsansprüche, intergenerationelle Verpflichtungen und Demokratie , in Creating Green Citizens
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer, Johannes Drerup, Franziska Felder, Veronika Magyar-Haas, Gottfried Schweiger (2022), ISBN: 978-3-662-63376-2 | Book chapter

  A Literature Review on Digital Ethics from a Humanistic and Sustainable Perspective
  14th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (2021) | Journal article

  Environmental justice in interdisciplinary perspective
  GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society (2021) | Journal article

  Landwirtschaft versus Naturschutz: Ethische Entscheidfindung in der Verwaltung , in Fallstudien zu Public Management und Verwaltungswissenschaft
  Kräuchi, Norbert and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Ritz, Adrian and Blankart, Rudolf and Jacobs, Claus and Lienhard, Andreas and Radulescu, Doina and Sager, Fritz (Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler, 2021) | Book chapter

  Feasibility and Justice in Decarbonizing Transitions , in Climate Justice and Feasibility
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Katz, Corey and Kenehan, Sarah (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021) | Book chapter

  Chancengleichheit , in Handbuch Liberalismus
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Festl, Michael Geronimo (Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 2021) | Book chapter

  Food security and cultural identity in agricultural adaptation - A trade-off? , in Justice and Food Security in a Changing Climate
  Carrillo, Tanja, Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Schübel, Hanna and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2021) | Book chapter

  Justice and Food Security in a Changing Climate: Proceedings of the EurSafe Conference 2021 in Fribourg
  , ed. by Schübel, Hanna and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2021) | Book

  Klima und Armut , in Handbuch Philosophie und Armut
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Schweiger, Gottfries and Sedmak, Clemens (Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 2021), ISBN: 978-3-476-05739-6 | Book chapter

  Food security and the moral differences between climate mitigation and geoengineering: the case of biofuels and BECCS , in Justice and Food Security in a Changing Climate
  Schübel, Hanna and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Schübel, Hanna and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2021) | Book chapter

  Philosophie du changement climatique , in Le climat en sciences sociales : conceptualisations et méthodes
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Metzger, Alexis (2021) | Book chapter

  Climate Adaptation Limits and the Right to Food Security , in Justice and Food Security in a Changing Climate
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo and Bouwer, Laurens M. and Huggel, Christian and Juhola, Sirkku and Mechler, Reinhard and Muccione, Veruska, ed. by Schübel, Hanna and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2021) | Book chapter

  Klimawandel , in Handbuch Liberalismus
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Festl, Michael Geronimo (Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 2021) | Book chapter

  Ethik und ethische Entscheidungsfindung , in Fallstudien zu Public Management und Verwaltungswissenschaft
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo and Kräuchi, Norbert, ed. by Ritz, Adrian and Blankart, Rudolf and Jacobs, Claus and Lienhard, Andreas and Radulescu, Doina and Sager, Fritz (Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler, 2021) | Book chapter

  Introduction: Justice and food security in a changing climate , in Justice and food security in a changing climate
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo and Schübel, Hanna, ed. by Schübel, Hanna and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2021) | Book chapter

  Gerechte Verteilung von Klima- und Umweltrisiken
  Information Philosophie; ISSN; 1434-5250 (2021) | Journal article

  Thema: Ethik und etische Entscheidungsfindung (Fallstudie 30) , in Fallstudien zu Public Management
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer (2021) | Book chapter

  An integrated framework for ethical and sustainable digitalization
  Wallimann-Helmer, I. and Terán, L. and Portmann, E. and Schübel, H. and Pincay, J., 2021 8th International Conference on eDemocracy and eGovernment, ICEDEG 2021: (2021) | Conference

  Supplementary material to "Anthropogenic climate change and glacier lake outburst flood risk: local and global drivers and responsibilities for the case of Lake Palcacocha, Peru"
  Christian Huggel, Mark Carey, Adam Emmer, Holger Frey, Noah Walker-Crawford, Ivo Wallimann-Helmer, (2020) | Preprint

  Anthropogenic climate change and glacier lake outburst flood risk: local and global drivers and responsibilities for the case of Lake Palcacocha, Peru
  Christian Huggel, Mark Carey, Adam Emmer, Holger Frey, Noah Walker-Crawford, Ivo Wallimann-Helmer, (2020) | Preprint

  Shared Values, Visions, and Pathways for Sustainability , in Priority Themes for Swiss Sustainability Research
  Sahakian, Marlyne and Zinsstag, Jakob and Di Giulio, Antonietta and Haller, Tobias and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Zenodo, 2020) | Book chapter

  Institutionen einer Nachhaltigen Demokratie
  SAGW-Bulletin (2020) | Journal article

  Anthropogenic climate change and glacier lake outburst flood risk: local and global drivers and responsibilities for the case of lake Palcacocha, Peru
  Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (2020) | Journal article

  Les différents domaines de l'action climatique et leurs principes de justice
  Ethica (2020) | Journal article

  Justice in managing global climate change , in Managing global warming : an interface of technology and human issues
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Letcher, Trevor (London / San Diego / Cambridge: Academic Press, 2019), ISBN: 978-0-12-814104-5 | Book chapter

  The ethical challenges in the context of climate loss and damage , in Loss and damage from climate change : concepts, methods and policy options
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo and Meyer, Lukas and Mintz-Woo, Kian and Schinko, Thomas and Serdeczny, Olivia, ed. by Mechler, Reinhard and Bouwer, Laurens M. and Schinko, Thomas and Surminski, Swenja and Linnerooth-Bayer, JoAnne (Cham: Springer, 2019), ISBN: 978-3-319-72025-8 | Book chapter

  Science for Loss and Damage: Findings and Propositions , in Loss and damage from climate change : concepts, methods and policy options
  Mechler, Reinhard and Calliari, Elisa and Bouwer, Laurens M. and Schinko, Thomas and Surminski, Swenja and Linnerooth-Bayer, JoAnne and Aerts, Jeroen and Botze, Wouter and Boyd, Emily and Deckard, Natalie Delia and Fuglestvedt, Jan S. and González-Eguino, Mikel and Haasnoot, Marjolijn and Handmer, John and Haque, Masroora and Heslin, Alison and Horainer-Stigler, Stefan and Huggel, Christian and Huq, Saleemu and James, Rachel and Jones, Richard G. and Juhola, Sirkku and Keating Adriana and Kienberger, Stefan and Kreft, Sönke and Kuik, Onno and Landauer, Mia and Laurien, Finn and Lawrence, Judy and Lopez, Ana and Liu, Wei, Magnuszewski, Piotr and Markandya, Anil and Mayer, Benoit and McCallum, Ian and McQuistan, Colin and Meyer, Lukas and Mintz-Woo, Kian and Montero-Colbert, Arianna and Mysiak, Jaroslav and Nalau, Johanna and Noy, Ilan and Oakes, Robert and Otto, Frederike E. L. and Pervin, Mousumi and Roberts, Erin and Schäfer, Laura and Scussolini, Paolo and Serdeczny, Olivia and de Sherbinin, Alex and Simlinger, Florentina and Siati, Asha and Sultana, Saibeen and Young, Hannah R. and van der Geest, Kees and van den Homberg, Marc and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo and Warner, Koko and Zommers, Zinta, ed. by Mechler, Reinhard and Bouwer, Laurens M. and Schinko, Thomas and Surminski, Swenja and Linnerooth-Bayer, JoAnne (Cham: Springer, 2019), ISBN: 978-3-319-72025-8 | Book chapter

  Herausforderung Ethik in der Hochschulbildung
  VSH-Bulletin (2019) | Journal article

  Five-step model for ethical inquiry into complex problems , in Applying Collective Inquiry
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo and Huppenbauer, Markus, ed. by Paschke, Melanie and Dahinden, Manuela (Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, 2019) | Book chapter

  Common but differentiated responsibilities: agency in climate justice , in A Research Agenda for Climate Justice
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Harris, Paul (Camberley Surey: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) | Book chapter

  Joint knowledge production in climate change adaptation networks
  Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (2019) | Journal article

  The ethics of waste policy , in The Routledge handbook of ethics and public policy
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Lever, Annabelle and Poama, Andrei (Oxon / New York: Taylor & Francis, 2018), ISBN: 978-1-138-20127-9 | Book chapter

  Caution in Defining the Public for Legitimate Geoengineering Governance
  Ethics, Policy & Environment (2018) | Journal article

  Debattenbeendigung durch und nicht nur für das Volk
  Information Philosophie (2018) | Journal article

  Ethik in der Ausbildung zu Gesundheitsberufen
  Pflegerecht (2018) | Journal article

  Ethik für medizinische Berufe: Reflexionshilfe zur Analyse ethischer Konfliktsituationen
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo and Keller, Muriel (Zürich: University of Zurich, 2018), ISBN: 978-3-03909-276-5 | Book

  Geoengineering als ethische Herausforderung
  ProClim Flash (2018) | Journal article

  Kollektive Verantwortung für den Klimaschutz
  Zeitschrift fuer Praktische Philosophie (2017) | Journal article

  Climate change, negative emissions and solar radiation management: It is time for an open societal conversation
  Honegger, Matthias and Münch, Steffen and Hirsch, Annette and Beuttler, Christoph and Peter, Thomas and Burns, Wil and Geden, Oliver and Goeschl, Timo and Gregorowius, Daniel and Keith, David and Lederer, Markus and Michaelowa, Axel and Pasztor, Janos and Schäfer, Stefan and Seneviratne, Sonia and Stenke, Andrea and Patt, Anthony and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo , Stiftung Risiko-Dialog (2017) | Other

  Die gerechte Bereitstellung grüner Freiräume
  Collage: Zeitschrift für Planung, Umwelt und Städtebau = périodique d’urbanisme, d’aménagement et d’environnement (2017) | Journal article

  Angewandte Ethik
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo , Philosophie.ch (2017) | Other

  Democracy for the Future: A Conceptual Framework to Assess Institutional Reform , in Jahrbuch für Wissenschaft und Ethik
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo and Meyer, Lukas and Burger, Paul, ed. by Sturma, Dieter and Honnefelder, Ludger and Fuchs, Michael (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2016) | Book chapter

  Reconciling justice and attribution research to advance climate policy
  Nature Climate Change (2016) | Journal article

  Zur Verbreitung und Institutionalisierung der Medizinethik: Zwischen "Einheimischen" und "Fremden"
  Schweizerische Ärztezeitung (SÄZ) (2016) | Journal article

  Quoten für bessere politische Einflussnahme junger Bürgerinnen und Bürger? , in Politische Beteiligung junger Menschen
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Tremmel, Jörg and Rutsche, Markus (Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2016), ISBN: 978-3-658-10185-5 | Book chapter

  Differentiating responsibilities for climate change adaptation
  Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosphie (ARSP) (2016) | Journal article

  Science for Loss and Damage: Four research contributions to the debate
  Huggel, Christian and Mechler, Reinhard and Bouwer, Laurens M. and Schinko, Thomas and Surminski, Swenja and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo , London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) (2016) | Other

  Justice for climate loss and damage
  Climatic Change (2015) | Journal article

  Social Equality: On What It Means to Be Equals
  , ed. by Fourie, Carina and Schuppert, Fabian and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Oxford / New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), ISBN: 978-0-19-933110-9 | Book

  Climate Justice in Interdisciplinary Research
  , ed. by Huggel, Christian and Ohndorf, Markus and Roser, Dominic and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Special Issue: Climatic Change, 2015) | Book

  Distributive vs. Procedural Justice in Nuclear Waste Repository Siting , in The Ethics of Nuclear Energy: Risk, Justice and Democracy in a post-Fukushima Era
  Krütli, Pius and Törnblom, Kjell and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo and Stauffacher, Michael, ed. by Taebi, Benham and Roeser, Sabine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015), ISBN: 978-1-107-05484-4 | Book chapter

  The Nature and Distinctiveness of Social Equality: An Introduction , in Social Equality: On What It Means to Be Equals
  Fourie, Carina and Schuppert, Fabian and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Fourie, Carina and Schuppert, Fabian and Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Oxford / New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), ISBN: 978-0-19-933110-9 | Book chapter

  Can Youth Quotas Help Avoid Future Disasters? , in Youth Quotas ? And other Efficient Forms of Youth Participation
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Dimitrijoski, Igor and Godli, Petter and Mason, Antony and Munius, Bettina and Tremmel, Jörg (Heidelberg: Springer, 2015), ISBN: 978-3-319-13430-7 | Book chapter

  The Liberal Tragedy of the Commons: The Deficiency of Democracy in the Light of Climate Change , in The Politics of Sustainability. Philosophical Perspectives
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Birnbacher, Dieter and Thorseth, May (New York: Routledge, 2015), ISBN: 978-1-317-52129-7 | Book chapter

  The liberal tragedy of the commons: The deficiency of democracy in a changing climate , in The Politics of Sustainability: Philosophical Perspectives
  Wallimann-Helmer, I. (2015) | Book chapter

  Distributive versus procedural justice in nuclear waste repository siting , in The Ethics of Nuclear Energy: Risk, Justice, and Democracy in the Post-Fukushima Era
  Krütli, P. and Törnblom, K. and Wallimann-Helmer, I. and Stauffacher, M. (2015) | Book chapter

  Climate Justice in Interdisciplinary Research
  Ivo Wallimann-Helmer, Christian Huggel , Markus Ohndorf , Dominic Roser (Climatic Change 133(3), 2015) | Book

  Environmental Inequalities and Democratic Citizenship: Linking Normative Theory with Empirical Research
  Analyse & Kritik (2014) | Journal article

  Lassen sich Quoten für junge Bürgerinnen und Bürger rechtfertigen?
  Journal für Generationengerechtigkeit (2014) | Journal article

  Not Losing Major Liberal and Rawlsian Insights: Comment on Gavin Kerr
  Analyse & Kritik (2013) | Journal article

  Chancengleichheit im Liberalismus : Bedeutung und Funktion eines überschätzten Ideals
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Freiburg/München: Verlag Karl Alber, 2013), ISBN: 978-3-495-48575-0 | Book

  The Republican Tragedy of the Commons: The Inefficiency of Democracy in the Light of Climate Change
  Ancilla Iuris - Special Issue: International Law and Ethics (2013) | Journal article

  Comment on Gavin Kerr: Not losing major liberal and Rawlsian insights
  Analyse und Kritik (2013) | Journal article

  Der Zweck von Bildung
  Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie (2012) | Journal article

  Zur Einführung: Der Grundsatz der Chancengleichheit in der UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention , in Chancengleichheit und ’Behinderung’ im Bildungswesen
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Freiburg / München: Verlag Karl Alber, 2012), ISBN: 978-3-495-48495-1 | Book chapter

  Chancengleichheit und 'Behinderung' im Bildungswesen
  , ed. by Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Freiburg / München: Verlag Karl Alber, 2012), ISBN: 978-3-495-48495-1 | Book

  Chancengleichheit in der Bildung - Auch für Menschen mit Behinderung? , in Chancengleichheit und ’Behinderung’ im Bildungswesen
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo (Freiburg / München: Verlag Karl Alber, 2012), ISBN: 978-3-495-48495-1 | Book chapter

  Die Abhängigkeit zwischen Chancengleichheit und Freiheit , in Proceedings von GAP.7. Nachdenken und Vordenken?
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Borchers, Dagmar and Gosepath, Stefan and Niestädt, Nadja and Petersen, Oliver (Duisburg-Essen: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-46305, 2012) | Book chapter

  Demokratiefähiger Klimaschutz
  Powision (2011) | Journal article

  Comment on Andrew Lister. Just distribution(s) and mutual recognition
  Analyse & Kritik (2011) | Journal article

  Self-conceptions and evolution: a critical comment on Philip Kitcher's The Ethical Project
  Conceptus Zeitschrift für Philosophie (2009) | Journal article

  Warum faire Chancengleichheit? , in Lebenswelt und Wissenschaft. XXI. Deutscher Kongress für Philosophie, Sektions-CD
  Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo, ed. by Gethmann, Carl Friedrich (Essen: 2008) | Book chapter

  Affective intentionality and practical rationality
  Dialectica (2007) | Journal article

  Introduction: Emotions and Rationality in Moral Philosophy
  European Journal of Analytic Philosophy (2006) | Journal article
• Research projects

  EurSafe 2021: Justice and Food Security in a Changing Climate
  Status: Completed

  Start	01.05.2021
  End	31.07.2021
  Funding	SNSF  Open project sheet
  The 2021 Conference of the European Society for Agriculture and Food Ethics (EurSafe) in Fribourg focuses on the ethical issues concerning food security in times of a changing climate. the global community aims to end hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. However, the number of chronically undernourished people increases continuously, and ongoing climate change is expected to aggravate the situation even more. Consequently, there is an urgent need for mitigation and adaptation strategies that reduce global emissions and readjust human systems to changing climatic conditions. Such strategies, however, come with their own challenges and could possibly interfere with the goal of food security, as the space for new technologies directly competes with the need for agricultural land. The papers and presentations of the EurSafe 2021 Conference will discuss these potential conflicts and synergies between food security and climate policies from an ethical perspective, following four core areas: (1) Climate mitigation and food security (2) Geoengineering, agriculture and land (3) Adapting agriculture to sustain food security (4) Animal ethics, veterinary ethics and food security Reflecting the ethical and social implications of climate change for food security is irremissible for informed decision-making within research and public policy. The conference aims to promote interdisciplinary and international exchange and provide a key step forward in providing solutions to these challenges.

  Principles for Ethical Decision-Making in Environmental Practice
  Status: Ongoing

  Start	01.04.2021
  End	28.02.2026
  Funding	SNSF  Open project sheet
  Humanity is facing as many environmental challenges as ever before in its history. These urgent challenges range from anthropogenic climate change to resource depletion and demand immediate action. Such action raises major ethical concerns and conflicts involving diverse parties with often conflicting sustainability goals and interests. However, environmental ethics to date has mainly been preoccupied with general concerns such as understanding our relation to nonhuman nature and has approached specific environmental challenges, if at all, in a piecemeal and unsystematic fashion. The aim of this project is to develop a general ethical framework for analyzing, systematizing, and deciding upon the ethical issues emerging in environmental politics, management, and administration. Building upon the methodology of principlism well known from medical ethics the ultimate outcome of this project will be a textbook that integrates applied exercises, forms, and checklists ready for practical use to make the framework widely available and usable in environmental science practice and education. Our investigation starts from the basis that it is possible to define a core set of ethical principles forming common morality in many diverse contexts of environmental governance and practice. This core set of principles determines how to decide ethical conflicts when implementing sustainability goals in various governance contexts. Principlism holds that, depending on the context, the core set of principles must be specified and weighted differently, leading to different moral duties. In order to verify whether principlism as a methodology can be a general tool for ethical decision-making in environmental governance and exactly what principles it stipulates, we will investigate three case studies. Taken together, their analysis contributes to the final formulation of the framework for ethical decision-making. We start our investigation from the hypothesis that four principles extensively discussed in environmental ethical literature and highly relevant in international politics form the core set of ethical principles in environmental practice: A) the polluter-pays principle, B) the ability-to-pay principle, C) the equal-per-capita principle, and D) the procedural-involvement principle, meaning the fair democratic involvement of those affected. We will apply and reformulate these four principles in three case studies and different fields of environmental ethics and policy: 1. Climate Adaptation / Loss and Damage: The first case study concerns adaptation and loss and damage policy in reaction to increased environmental risks due to climate change. 2. Biodiversity and Alien Species: The second case study investigates the challenge of alien species management and the preservation of biodiversity in Europe and globally. 3. Wildlife protection and conservation: The third case study deals with wildlife protection and conservation with a special focus on cases in Namibia, where several competing wildlife conservation practices potentially cause varying ethical conflicts.

Teaching and courses

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