Download This PaperRecognizing the Role of Religion in Environmental Legal Norms
32 ST. THOMAS LAW REVIEW 24 (symposium) (2020)
2 Pages Posted: 18 May 2020
Date Written: April 21, 2020
Abstract
Intergenerational equity is also a chief concern of climate change adaptation efforts and sustainable development. According to much religious teaching, present generations should keep the environment healthy and safe for inheritance by future generations. This duty-based approach is substantially different from a rights-based approach, and can widen legal and moral tools for environmental protection. The indirect impacts of energy production, generation, and consumption increase the burden on third world nations in energy production, often for the benefit of the nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”), including the United States. But environmental destruction that can come from these industrial activities violates the public interest, especially when it causes air, soil, or water pollution. Reframing environmental protection as a religious issue can address neoconservative tendencies toward business expansion and laissez faire economics. The concern is that those who contribute most to carbon pollution will not be around to face its impacts.
Keywords: Climate Change, Religion, Law and Society, Environmental Norm, Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law
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