This Thursday at 5:15, we have a great opportunity to show that the MIT community cares deeply about the ethics of climate change. This is a chance to dive deeply into these issues with other members of the MIT community and discuss how MIT can be involved in solving the catastrophic effects of climate change. The event, Climate Change: Ethics in Action, will be held in Walker Memorial (50-140). Dinner will be served.  Click here to RSVP. 

From record temperatures to extreme weather events, the impacts of climate change are evident around the globe. Yet while the climate threat becomes increasingly clear, the collective nature of its causes and the seeming remoteness of its impacts challenge many of our ethical intuitions. Join other members of the MIT community in a conversation about the ethical implications of climate change and our collective responsibility for action.

*What is our ethical responsibility to take action against climate change, as individuals and as a university?

*As we grapple with different points of view, what are the distinctions between healthy skepticism and dangerous denial, and what is our responsibility to defend science against disinformation?

*With massive societal shifts necessary to limit global temperature rise below dangerous levels, what level of action against climate change is "enough"?

PROGRAM:

• 5:15 - Opening remarks

• 5:30 - Keynote presentation on the ethics of climate change

  • Dale Jamieson - Professor of Environmental Studies and Philosophy; Affiliated Professor of Law and Bioethics; Chair of Environmental Studies Department at New York University

• 6:30 - Panel discussion on the role of universities in responding to climate change

  • Kerry Emanuel - Professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT

  • Susan Silbey - Professor of Humanities, Sociology and Anthropology at MIT; Professor of Behavioral and Policy Sciences, Sloan School of Management

  • Janelle Knox-Hayes - Associate Professor of Economic Geography and Planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT

  • Nathan Phillips - Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University

  • Moderated by Kieran Setiya - Professor and Acting Chair of Philosophy at MIT

This text was adapted from an statement issued by FossilFreeMIT.