The interdisciplinary research project “Practical Challenges of Climate Change: Intergenerational Justice and Freedom” (PRACC) is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in the context of its funding program “Ethical, legal, and social aspects in the life sciences” (ELSA). The overall objective of the project is to develop an ethical and legal framework for policy recommendations regarding climate change, based on the fundamental concepts of intergenerational justice and freedom. This will serve as a guideline for the delineation of adapted production and consumption patterns informed by a bioeconomic analysis and for the assessment of conservation priorities against the backdrop of biodiversity loss induced by climate change.

Subproject at the DRZE: Ethical Analysis
The complexity of the phenomenon of climate change presents us not only with political, technical and economic challenges, but also with enormous ethical ones. Greenhouse gases remain in the atmosphere for a very long time and also influence the climatic conditions for humans in the distant future. Climate change is largely caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and has predominantly negative consequences for humans, animals and plants. This immediately raises the question of what responsibility current generations have for future generations. As a result, how society deals with climate change also becomes a problem of intergenerational justice.

Funded by:
German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Funding code: 01GP2206A

Funding period:
2023 - 2026

Project website:
pracc.de/en-gb