Discussion and conclusion
The paradigm shift from current production and consumption patterns of humans to more environmentally conscious behaviour is also emphasized in the climate future narratives. However, the ethical foundations for why we should care for nature has both not been accepted at the international level but also is considered as mainly vague to direct our actions. The moral principle of avoiding extreme value requires an equal distribution to both production and natural capital which leaves out the problem of climate change without an effective solution.
The collision of human history with the history of nature resulted in an understanding of our place on earth as simply one of the nodes of the complex web of relations between our earth and its biotic and abiotic constituents. We are only a small subset inside the history of nature with no other option than to show respect towards ecosystems, nature and the earth which we depend on for a living. This paradigm shift is only possible if we can preserve the focus of our moral responsibility towards climate as life supporting and regulating system.
We are actually bound to our relations with nature where our utilities drive our decisions and the conservation of nature requires our commitment to science combined with an appreciation of its limits. However, these relations are not sufficient to promote our action to protect the climate as our moral responsibilities are not on the same level towards the unknown future and our immediate posterity. Therefore, our values towards nature should be enforced by environmental virtues towards our earth and climate as life supporting and regulating system.
Humility towards nature requires our understanding of our position in the earth system and putting our locus of moral responsibility towards nature. Wonder is best represented by children with awe towards nature and accepting science as a major tool for gaining knowledge of oneself and nature. While we construct our ethics towards humans individually, the integrity and stability of nature as a whole require defining the locus of value on the earth holistically. The locus of value can only be nature as our climate depends on the interactions between biotic and abiotic systems and finally the forcing from human activities requiring environmental virtues for effective climate action.