notes for coal case
Case 10 Development with coal
Case 10 is about the world reliance on coal technology as a source of energy.
· Currently 42% of global electricity is created by burning coal with American being the leading producer and consumer of coal. As countries like India and China continue to industrialize, it seems inevitable that under current conditions the total amount of coal that the world burns annually will continue to rise until new sources of energy can be developed.
· While burning coal is the cheapest way to produce energy, it is also the dirtiest and the one that contributes most to green house gas emissions. 27% of greenhouse gas emissions in the US are caused by burning coal. Coal is a major source of the greenhouse gasses that are pushing global temperature to dangerous levels. It is also a major source of pollution from sulphur dioxcide.
· The key ethical question of this case is whether or not the West owes developing countries financial and technical support to help create forms of alternative technologies since they have harmed the world by their disproportional use of coal burning technology.
· Some might argue that the West did not develop its coal technology knowing of its harmful effects and therefore is not responsible for these effects.
· We agree that the West did have a right to acquire and use coal in the past, but it also has an ethical responsibility to compensate for the harmful global effects of coal. Since it has benefited from the global use of resources it is only fair that it works to repair the environmental harm caused by the use of fossil fuels
· We agree that, as a matter of economic justice, the West has an ethical responsibility aid poorer counties to develop and implement clean energy sources while reducing its own reliance on coal and other fossil fuels.
· We would create Global clean energy consortium that countries are required to pay into it based on GDP. We would allow for a period of transition in which all countries would be allowed a similar mix of energy sources. Less developed countries would have a say in how they want to develop their energy futures.
· Recent global warnings agreements emissions such as Kyoto Protocol and the Copenhagen Treaty begin to set a precedent for what needs to be done internationally. The United States has an ethical responsibility and become a leader in this effort rather than lagging behind.
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The question her is not about whether or not Global Warming is real, but, assuming it is, whether or not developed countries owe less developed countries reparations for environmental damage done by the over use of fossil fuels. We agree some compensation is needed, but should take the form of helping countries ameliorate the harmful effects of global warming or helping them develop alternative energies according to their own needs and expectations.
