Social Justice and the German Energiewende the Philosophical-Ethical Discourse

Größe: px

Ab Seite anzeigen:

Download "Social Justice and the German Energiewende the Philosophical-Ethical Discourse"

Simon Axel Lange
vor 5 Jahren
Abrufe

1 Social Justice and the German Energiewende the Philosophical-Ethical Discourse Andri König 16th Annual STS Conference Graz 2017 S12 Social justice in discourse of German energy transition

2 Outline I. Conceptual Framework: Morals and Ethics, (Social) Justice, Sustainable Development, Energiewende II. Social Justice and the Energiewende 1. Energy Sources 2. Cross-cutting Issues III. Summary 2

3 Conceptual Framework: Morals and Ethics Morals and ethics are not the same: Morals are individual and collective ideas of the good and of proper actions In Ethics, morals are systematically reflected Normative Ethics examines the solidity of reasons given for moral obligations/ judgements/ values (Potthast 2016) 3

4 Conceptual Framework: (Social) Justice Aristotle distinguishes distributive, corrective and political justice Social justice emerged in the 18/19th century (Höffe 2010) Solution of social problems by a just distribution of goods and opportunities? (e.g. Rawls 1971) Principle of distribution: parity, proportionality, priority? Procedural justice: Who decides about distribution? Is the decision-making process just? More recently: intra- and intergenerational justice 4

5 Conceptual Framework: Sustainable Development Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: the concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs (WCED 1987, 41). 5

6 Conceptual Framework: Energiewende In 2011, the German Bundestag decided to phase out nuclear power The Energiewende is usually understood as an exit of nuclear and fossil fuel energy as well as the rapid expansion of renewable energy technologies The Energiewende has to be understood as a farreaching societal transformation A philosophical-ethical discourse on the Energiewende exists 6

7 Energy Sources: Nuclear Power and Fossil Fuels Key question of justice: Is a just distribution of chances and risks between generations living today and in the future possible? (e.g. Hillerbrand 2011; Potthast 2016; Vogt 2014) Nuclear power: high availability, low greenhouse gas emissions, risks of nuclear disaster, unsettled question of final storage Fossil fuels: (still) high availability, low costs, greenhouse gas emissions, limited availability Tendency: a just distribution is hardly possible 7

8 Energy Sources: Renewable Energies Key question of justice: Is a just distribution of chances and risks between generations living today and in the future possible? (e.g. Kümmel 2014; Streffer et al. 2005) Biomass: low greenhouse gas emissions, renewable, landuse conflicts, decrease of biodiversity Wind power: low greenhouse gas emissions, renewable, interference with natural landscape Solar energy: low greenhouse gas emissions, renewable, land-use conflicts Tendency: a just distribution is possible for wind power and solar energy, but it is controversial for biomass 8

9 Cross-cutting Issues: Costs, Decentralization, Participation Questions of distributive justice: Are the costs and profits of the Energiewende fairly distributed? Keyword: energy poverty (e.g. Kopatz 2015) Who profits financially from a decentral energy production and who loses? Questions of procedural justice: A decentralized energy system enables societal participation: who participates? Who is excluded? What about future generations? (e.g. Schweizer 2015; Schweizer/Renn 2013) 9

10 Cross-cutting Issues: Sufficiency How much energy do I/ we need for a good life? (e.g. Vogt 2015) Questioning the connection of economic growth and well-being of societies and individuals (ibid.) Individual energy life style affects global and intergenerational justice Sufficiency not just a question of individual virtue/ preferences, but has social and political dimension (Kopatz 2015; Potthast 2016) 10

11 Summary Social justice not to be reduced to energy prices of renewable energies Questions of justice in philosophical-ethical discourse on Energiewende are questions of intra- and intergenerational justice distributional and procedural justice sustainable development; Last but not least, they are connected to individual ideas of a good life 11

12 References Aristoteles (1985): Nikomachische Ethik. 4. Aufl. Hg. v. Günther Bien. Hamburg: F. Meiner (Philosophische Bibliothek, Bd. 5). Hillerbrand, Rafaela (2011): Von Risikoabschätzung zum guten Leben oder umgekehrt? In: APuZ 46-47/2011, S Höffe, Otfried (2010): Gerechtigkeit. Eine philosophische Einführung. 4. Aufl. München: C.H. Beck. Kopatz, Michael (2015): Sozial- und Suffizienzpolitik als Teil der Energiewende. In: Heimbach-Steins, Marianne (Hrsg.): Ethische Herausforderungen der Energiewende. In: Jahrbuch für christliche Sozialwissenschaften ; 56. Band/2015, Münster : Aschendorff Verlag, S Kümmel, Reiner (2014): Energiewende, Klimaschutz, Schuldenbremse Vorbild Deutschland? In: Ostheimer, Jochen & Vogt, Markus (Hg.): Die Moral der Energiewende. Risikowahrnehmung im Wandel am Beispiel der Atomenergie. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, S Potthast, Thomas (2016): Atomausstieg und Energiewende ethische Perspektiven. In: Markus Ludwigs (Hrsg.): Der Atomausstieg und seine Folgen. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. Rawls, John (1971): A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Schweizer, Pia-Johanna (2015), Partizipation bei der Energiewende und beim Ausbau der Stromnetze: Philosophische Fundierung. In: TAB-Brief. 45/

13 References Schweizer, Pia-Johanna; Renn, Ortwin (2013). Partizipation in Technikkontroversen: Panakeia für die Energiewende? In: Technikfolgenabschätzung Theorie und Praxis, 22/ 2 (Juli 2013) Streffer, Christian; Gethmann, Carl F.; Heinloth, Klaus; Rumpff, Klaus; Witt, Andreas (2005): Ethische Probleme einer langfristigen globalen Energieversorgung. Berlin: de Gruyter. Vogt, Markus (2014): Zur ethischen Bewertung der Atomenergie nach Tschernobyl und Fukushima. In: Ostheimer, Jochen & Vogt, Markus (Hg.): Die Moral der Energiewende. Risikowahrnehmung im Wandel am Beispiel der Atomenergie. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, S Vogt, Markus (2015): Die Moral der Energiewende. Eine Topographie ethischer Herausforderungen. In: Heimbach-Steins, Marianne (Hrsg.): Ethische Herausforderungen der Energiewende. In: Jahrbuch für christliche Sozialwissenschaften ; 56. Band/2015, Münster : Aschendorff Verlag, S World Commission on Environment and Development (1987): Our common future. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. 13

Ähnliche Dokumente

Anforderungen an Zivilgesellschaft, Wissenschaft und Politik

Das Konzept der Planetary Boundaries Anforderungen an Zivilgesellschaft, Wissenschaft und Politik Moritz Remig Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies e.v. IASS Potsdam Institute for Advanced Sustainability