Quote of the Week - Failing to act on the grave threat posed by climate change devalues the lives of future generations and amounts to unacceptable “discrimination by date of birth”

Failing to act on the grave threat posed by climate change devalues the lives of future generations and amounts to unacceptable “discrimination by date of birth”, according to the influential economist Lord Stern.

Speaking at an international meeting in Rome on environmental justice and climate change attended by senior Vatican officials, Stern said that the “moral arguments” for action to combat climate change were overwhelming.

“Discounting future welfare or lives means weighting the welfare of lives of future people lower than lives now, irrespective of consumption and income levels, purely because their lives lie in the future,” he said.  “This is discrimination by date of birth, and is unacceptable when viewed alongside notions of rights and justice.”

Moral case to tackle climate change overwhelming, says Lord Stern by Stephanie Kirchgaessner, The Guardian, Sep 10, 2015

Read original post at 2015 SkS Weekly Digest #37