UNESCO considers ClimateChange UniversalDeclaration of Ethical Principles

This is encouraging:

UNESCO considers a possible Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles in Relationship to Climate Change

Following the initiative of UNESCO and COMEST to promote serious debate on the ethical stakes of climate change, regional expert consultation meetings will be held across the world between March and May with a view to assessing the advisability of a Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles in Relation to Climate Change.

The outcomes of the regional expert meetings, along with other consultations, will feed into a report by the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) that will be submitted to the Director-General of UNESCO in July 2010. Subsequently, the Executive Board of UNESCO, meeting in October 2010, will decide whether to request the Director-General to submit to the 36th General Conference in 2011 a draft declaration drawn up in consultation with the Member States.

Organized by the Secretariat of UNESCO, in close liaison with COMEST and with local host institution and countries, these expert consultation meetings will create a forum where the possibility of universal consensus can be assessed through the articulation of local concerns regarding climate change and its effects.

The meeting schedule is as follows:

• Europe and North America: Meetings are proposed in Yerevan (Armenia) on 19-20 April and at UNESCO Headquarters on 10-11 May.
• Arab States: A meeting is proposed in Amman (Jordan) on 4-5 May.
• Africa: Meetings are proposed in Dakar (Senegal) on 16-17 March and in Nairobi (Kenya) on 19-20 May.
• Latin America and the Caribbean: Meetings are proposed in Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) on 9-10 April and in Montevideo (Uruguay) on 13-14 May.
• Asia and the Pacific: Meetings are proposed in New Delhi (India) on 29-30 March, in Yokohama (Japan) on 22-23 April, and in Auckland (New Zealand) on 26-27 April.

UNESCO attaches great importance to the success of its regional consultation meetings, which will ensure that the full range of expertise is taken into account in considering the advisability of a Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles in relation to Climate Change.

This ethics initiative is set more generally within the framework of UNESCO's Strategy for Action on Climate Change as approved at the 179th Session Executive Board in April 2008.

UNESCO's work in this area is currently built around three strategic objectives:

• Building and maintaining the climate change knowledge base: science, assessment, monitoring and early warning;
• Promoting mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, including through enhanced education and public awareness; and
• Moving towards a climate-neutral UNESCO.

The United Nations System determined that the overwhelming importance of addressing global climate change requires the concerted efforts of the entire System, not least because there is increasing concern that climate change and climate variability could undermine the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

For more information, please contact

John Crowley, Chief of Section, Ethics of Science and Technology Section,

Division of Ethics of Science and Technology: j.crowley@unesco.org

Tel: +33 (0)1 45 68 38 28