Yale Global Initiative on Climate Change and Public Health Ethics: "Redefining Wellbeing and Human Dignity in the Anthropocene"

December 08, 2023

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Dr. Luis R. Fernández-Carril joined YCCCH to discuss his work in international climate policy and redefining wellbeing and human dignity in the Anthropocene.

Speaker: Dr. Luis R. Fernández-Carril, Sustainability Officer, Tecnológico de Monterrey

November 29, 2023

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00:00Professor Doctor Luis Fernandez Cato.
00:07I'm going to share his bio and today
00:10he will be speaking on redefining
00:13well-being and human dignity
00:15in their in the Anthropocene,
00:17a really fascinating and
00:20forward thinking topic.
00:22I can't wait to hear from him.
00:24So Doctor Cotto is a researcher
00:27in environmental ethics
00:28and climate change policy.
00:30He has been a professor at Technoloco
00:33de Monterey since August 2014.
00:36He currently serves as Sustainability Officer
00:38within the Vice Presidency of Inclusion,
00:41Social Impact,
00:42and Sustainability at Technoloco de Monterey.
00:46He recently participated as lead
00:48author for the United Nations
00:50Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
00:53Working Group 2 for the 6th Assessment
00:55Report in the chapter dedicated to
00:58climate resilient development pathways.
01:00He served as legislative advisor and
01:02leader as Chief of Staff of the Special
01:05Commission on Climate Change of the
01:07Senate of the Republic from 2015 to 2018.
01:10Previously,
01:10he was a researcher and international
01:13liaison in the Climate Change
01:15Research Program at the National
01:17Autonomous University of Mexico,
01:192014 to 2017.
01:20His main lines of research are
01:23environmental governance and
01:24international climate negotiations,
01:26adaptation and resilience to climate change,
01:29environmental ethics,
01:31climate justice and education
01:33for sustainable development.
01:35So we'll turn it over to Doctor Caudill,
01:37and thank you so much for taking
01:39the time to speak with us today.
01:43Thank you so much, Laura.
01:46Thank you everyone,
01:48for being here with us today.
01:51It's for me and for me,
01:52it's such an honor to be here with you.
01:55Thank you so much for for to the Yale
01:59Center on Climate Change and Health,
02:01to everyone involved in this kind of
02:04invitation for me to be here with you.
02:06Well, today we're going to be speaking
02:10about philosophical perspective and
02:12ethical perspective on what is happening,
02:15the way we're navigating into the
02:18andropocene and all the implications.
02:20This has
02:24in a very in a philosophical way,
02:26but also in a very practical way
02:28of understanding human dignity and
02:31well-being in this time in this
02:34epoch called the Anthropocene.
02:35So I hope you find this interesting
02:38that we can reflect that we can ask
02:41difficult questions and and to have
02:44a dialogue among among colleagues.
02:48So I invite you if you will have
02:50questions during my presentation.
02:52Please go ahead, you can raise
02:53your hands and if not in the end,
02:56at the end of my presentations
02:58we can have AQ and a session.
03:01So I hope you find this interesting,
03:05redefining well-being and
03:06human dignity in the Andropos.
03:08You know, I'm going to go.
03:10First of all, we're going to be speaking
03:14about this the main questions today.
03:17How, first of all, how how does human
03:21dignity and well-being relate to
03:23climate change and to the Anthropocene?
03:26What are the the conditions of existence
03:29of human dignity in this epoch?
03:31Are they the same?
03:32Is human dignity the same as we've
03:35known it as we've described it as
03:38We're going to see it evolving in
03:41this new epoch of the Anthropocene,
03:44and we're going to be speaking about
03:47something called the ontology of precarity.
03:49This means what are the conditions
03:51of existence, the conditions of life,
03:53the conditions of trying to live in a time,
03:57in a turbulent time,
03:58as we are starting now to to
04:01see in this Anthropocene.
04:04So I hope this, this is,
04:09this is interesting for you all and we can
04:12really have a an interesting dialogue.
04:14First of all,
04:15I'm going to just pinpoint a
04:18couple of key messages from the
04:20IPCC 6th Assessment report.
04:22I'm sure most of you are
04:24very familiar with this.
04:25So I'm just going to mention a couple
04:27of of key messages that I think are
04:30relevant for today's discussion.
04:32So in this 6th assessment report
04:34that was just recently published,
04:37we see that human activities primarily
04:39through the greenhouse gas emissions
04:42have unequivocally caused global warming.
04:45We're already beyond 1.2° right now,
04:49average of an increase of temperature,
04:52and this global gas emissions
04:55have continued to increase.
04:57Even though we've put in place the
05:00Kyoto Protocol, now the Paris Agreement.
05:03These greenhouse emissions continue to rise.
05:06We don't even historical and
05:08current contributions from the very
05:10different sectors.
05:11We are very different activities
05:14from energy use, use, land use,
05:18our lifestyles, consumption and many,
05:21many other different things that we
05:23can mention that are responsible
05:25for this greenhouse gases.
05:29What is most important is that
05:31now climate change is everywhere,
05:33as you can see with this message
05:36from the IPCC.
05:37Climate change widespread,
05:38rapid and intensifying.
05:39We see it everywhere.
05:41This is not only something happening
05:44in the Arctic,
05:45it's happening everywhere in the world.
05:50According to a recent paper
05:52published in Nature this year,
05:54it was saying something like 85%
05:56of all the population in the Earth
05:59is currently facing climate change
06:01impacts in one way or the other, 85%.
06:04And that is now today at 1.2°
06:08of increase of temperature.
06:11And we're facing, well, mostly, well,
06:15not very. A very worrisome scenario.
06:21An important message from the working group
06:26to dedicated to impacts, vulnerability,
06:28and adaptation is the following human cost.
06:31Climate change is causing dangerous
06:33and widespread disruption to nature,
06:35and it's affecting the lives of
06:37billions of people around the world,
06:39despite the efforts to reduce the risks.
06:42So the first, the first part
06:45is what I already mentioned.
06:4885% of the world is already facing
06:50some kind of impact of climate change.
06:52But now what is more worrisome
06:54is the second part,
06:55despite the efforts to reduce the risks.
06:58And that is what is really worrisome,
07:00that we're not starting from zero.
07:03We have decades of already put
07:06in place mitigation policies,
07:08adaptation strategies,
07:09but these efforts are not reducing the risks.
07:14One of the most important elements
07:15that we see in this,
07:17in this 6th Assessment report
07:20is empirical evidence around the
07:22world of adaptation strategies
07:24that are simply not working,
07:27that are,
07:30that are actually increasing
07:32the vulnerability of people.
07:35So we have the vulnerability that
07:37people are going to face because
07:40of the risks of climate change,
07:42but the policies and the
07:44the actual strategies are
07:45increasing their vulnerabilities.
07:47So of course this is even more worrisome.
07:51The the IPCC also says that over the
07:53next two decades the planet will
07:56face several unavoidable climate
07:58hazards with global warming of 1.5°.
08:01Even if this level of warming
08:03is temporarily exceeded,
08:04as it has happened already this year,
08:06it will generate additional severe impact,
08:09some of which will be irreversible.
08:11And now we have empirical evidence,
08:13as I was mentioning, of maladaptation.
08:15All right.
08:16And what I was mentioning that
08:18the strategies we're putting
08:19in place are not adapting,
08:21are not creating communities that can adapt.
08:24What are maladapting?
08:25And the window of opportunity is closing.
08:28Urgent action is needed to face these risks,
08:32the window of opportunity for
08:34climate resilient development.
08:36This means trying to develop in a dignified,
08:39ethical, sustainable way is closing.
08:45And of course the IPCC also warns
08:47us that unless there are immediate,
08:50rapid,
08:51large scale reductions in greenhouse
08:53gas emissions limiting global warming
08:55to 1.5 or even to two degrees,
08:57we'll be out of reach.
08:58And this is going to if the trends
09:01continue as they are right now,
09:03then this is going to happen pretty
09:06pretty soon as we have already
09:08reached this year not not only 1.5,
09:10but two degrees.
09:12Just a few weeks ago,
09:14the Copernicus Observatory was
09:18affirming that we that we were for
09:21one day or two beyond two degrees.
09:24So this is really worrisome.
09:27Our chances of staying below 1.5
09:30or even 2 will soon or can be
09:33out of reach very soon.
09:36So basically this means a transformation
09:39of society in all levels.
09:42We need to reduce 43% of global gas
09:46emissions by 2031, third of methane.
09:49And even if we do this,
09:51it is almost inevitable that we
09:53will temporarily exceed this
09:55temperature threshold.
09:56So it is now or never.
09:58As James K, the new IPCC chair,
10:00warns us,
10:01we need to act now.
10:04The problem is that current
10:06policies and actions are leading
10:09us to an increase of 2.7°C,
10:11which means a whole more impacts in
10:14terms of magnitude and frequency.
10:17As we've seen, this year was simply terrible.
10:19We we can, we can imagine,
10:22we have the numbers,
10:23we have the data of the kind of impacts
10:25that we will face with 1.5 with two degrees.
10:28So the the policies and action that
10:30we have in place are simply not enough.
10:32Yeah, we can see the optimistic scenario,
10:34but those are just words.
10:35Those are just rhetoric.
10:38Not action, not action,
10:40not true, not real world action.
10:43So we must only see what is actually
10:45happening, the policies and actions.
10:47That means the blue,
10:48the blue box there.
10:50So that is where we're headed.
10:52And what we need to do would
10:54be something like this.
10:56This kind of extraordinary
10:58effort is what we would need
11:00to do in the next years to stop
11:04overshooting the 1.5° goal, right?
11:08That's what we have on the left,
11:11On the right.
11:12What is more troublesome is that the
11:15only thing that has stopped global
11:18gas emissions in the last decades
11:20has been first the 2000 and eight
11:242009 global financial crisis and 2nd,
11:27the first year of the pandemic.
11:30So this means that no international
11:33policy has been able to decrease global
11:37gas emissions in the last decades.
11:41These are the only two things,
11:42and of course those are accidental and by
11:46no means those are the way those are answers
11:49to how to decrease our gas emissions.
11:52So if those are the only two things that
11:57have stopped or decreased emissions,
11:59then we have a lot to worry,
12:02particularly now that the COP 28 is about
12:06to start than what it's been discussed.
12:09This is what we need to do.
12:10So we should be very afraid of the
12:14status quo remaining because the
12:16window of opportunity is closing fast.
12:20Now just a couple of days ago,
12:23The Lancet Countdown 2023 was
12:25published and then we see,
12:27I just want to I'm sure in this
12:30forum that you have spoken in many
12:33occasions of the different hazards
12:35and the different impacts in health
12:37that we see related to climate change.
12:40I just want to mention a couple
12:42of things that are that are either
12:45direct impacts in health,
12:47but mostly indirect elements that
12:49have to do and that are reported
12:52here in The Lancet Countdown.
12:54So for example,
12:55we see the health threats experienced
12:57to date are nearly symptoms of the
12:59dangers of our future might hold.
13:02New projections reveal an intolerable future.
13:05I want to under score the word that
13:08they're using an intolerable future
13:09with rapidly growing hazards, right?
13:11And they mentioned things like heat
13:13related deaths are projected to
13:15increase by more than 300%, almost 400%.
13:19Heat related labor loss is projected
13:22to increase by 50%.
13:24More than 500 million additional
13:26people projected to experience
13:28moderate to severe food insecurity.
13:30The transmission potential for
13:32dengue among other diseases is
13:34projected to increase up by 37%.
13:36So just a few details at this is
13:39just published so I invite you to
13:41to look at at The Lancet Countdown,
13:44really very interesting with the
13:46findings that you that you can see there.
13:49So these are just some elements and
13:51we can see health related deaths,
13:54heat related labour loss.
13:56This has profound impacts
14:00on our lives, our personal lives,
14:03the kind of life that we want to
14:06have in this time and this age.
14:08So this means our human dignity.
14:11So this is the moment where we need
14:14to define, and I'm going to try to be
14:17very simple with these definitions,
14:20not to enter in into a specific academic,
14:24philosophical and academic terminology,
14:28but basically, human dignity refers to
14:31the inherent value and worth that every
14:34individual possesses simply by being human.
14:37It encompasses the idea that each person
14:40deserves respect, honor for treatment,
14:42regardless of their circumstances,
14:44background or characteristics.
14:45Human dignity includes elements of autonomy,
14:48agency and the right to be free
14:50from discrimination,
14:51degradation or humiliation.
14:52And as we will see in the next
14:57couple of slides,
14:59climate change poses a deep threat
15:02to our human dignity and also
15:04to our to our well-being,
15:06of course, because well-being,
15:08generally speaking, defined generally.
15:10It represents A holistic state of health,
15:13happiness, prosperity,
15:14encompassing physical, mental,
15:17emotional and social aspects
15:19of an individual life.
15:21It goes beyond the absence of illness
15:24and includes factors such as access
15:26to basic needs, a sense of purpose,
15:29positive relations, security,
15:30fulfillment and the ability to
15:32cope with stress and adversity.
15:34As you can see these two elements,
15:36that is basically what makes
15:39us smile every day.
15:40That is basically a reason for
15:43being alive today or every day.
15:47So now try to imagine a world
15:50where climate change,
15:51among the other environmental
15:53crisis that we're facing today,
15:55can rob us of this,
15:59can really put jeopardize
16:04the respect, deferred treatment,
16:07the sense of purpose,
16:09our fulfilment, our ability to
16:11cope with stress and adversity.
16:13Then what kind of life is that?
16:16And that is basically a little bit
16:19where we have to question and we need
16:21to discuss today how is human dignity
16:26being impacted by climate change.
16:28We see it in very different ways.
16:30This is not all the different elements,
16:34but I tried to include at least
16:37different points that were going
16:38to be of of great importance.
16:41And right now and in the future in
16:44terms of displacement and migration,
16:46what kind of life,
16:47what kind of human dignity possess
16:49an individual who's forced out of
16:52their place where they were born,
16:54where they made their lives and
16:56they have to go somewhere else and
16:59then somewhere else is probably a
17:01place where they are not wanted.
17:03As we can see in the world with
17:06the rise of fascism,
17:08of walls of people being excluded.
17:11What kind of human dignity is left
17:14for the people who are unwanted
17:16in a place and are forced to leave
17:19on on the the place of origin.
17:21The health impacts
17:25many and many people here from
17:27from the public school of health.
17:31So this is the forefront of of the
17:33war against climate change, right?
17:35You will see it in in hospitals,
17:37the kind of diseases,
17:39malnutrition, the amount of of
17:42different health related risks
17:46related to climate change
17:47that we will see in health.
17:49What if this becomes not just a
17:53contingency but of a way of life?
17:55What if this becomes something
17:57that we see every day?
18:00You see it in hospitals,
18:01you see with people suffering
18:03after a hurricane or after
18:05a drought after a heat wave.
18:07What kind of life is that?
18:10If this becomes the general norm,
18:13if this becomes an everyday situation
18:15or eight months of the year situation
18:18in terms of access to resources,
18:21day zero has become a reality in many places,
18:24in many cities in the world.
18:26Right now.
18:26In the city that I'm living in,
18:28where I'm at right now,
18:31Monterrey in Mexico, we're facing day
18:33zero of water for the last two years.
18:36Water is not warranted.
18:38I don't know.
18:40I don't know if I'm going to have
18:42water when I wake up in the morning.
18:45So if this becomes something
18:49of our daily lives,
18:50how does this impact our well-being?
18:52How does this impact our human dignity
18:55or have or being forced to rob water
18:58as some people are starting to do?
19:01As I as I see it,
19:03they are desperate because they haven't
19:05had water for more than three weeks,
19:07for example.
19:08These cases are happening
19:09right now and will continue to
19:12happen elsewhere in the world.
19:14The kind of economic disparities and
19:17social disparities that we will see,
19:19that are because our world is already
19:22facing profound economic disparities,
19:25profound social injustice.
19:26And as you can, as you already know,
19:29with with climate change as
19:31a multiplier of threats,
19:33it's going to to create even more
19:37extreme economic disparities,
19:39more injustice, more inequality.
19:41And of course this can and will
19:45lead in some way to conflicts,
19:47be it local, regional,
19:50international conflicts for resources.
19:53So these are many different ways in
19:56which human dignity, well-being,
19:58can be affected by climate change.
20:02But now? Where do we see it?
20:04How is really human dignity?
20:06These are the we saw the impacts
20:09of climate change.
20:10How do they relate to human dignity?
20:12But in in specific terms,
20:15how does climate change is
20:17impacting our human dignity?
20:19First,
20:19our inherent worth.
20:21That is something really important
20:23and particularly with the example
20:25that I that I made in the slide,
20:28the in the previous slide.
20:32How is our inherent worth jeopardized by
20:36this situation by living in the Anthropocene?
20:40Well, mainly if you're not wanted
20:42when you're being forced out of
20:45the place where you live that puts
20:47into question your inherent worth.
20:49Or with the current inaction and
20:52the world leading to two degrees.
20:55That is already a death sentence
20:57to many people in the world.
21:00So for some it means impacts that you can
21:08adapt to, let's say.
21:10But for some it is a death sentence.
21:13So with current in action,
21:17we're allowing death and we're
21:19we're allowing people to die.
21:21So what does what does that mean in terms of
21:24our inherent worth or the respect for rights?
21:28We see the kind of complex,
21:31the impacts that we will see
21:33with Climate Change Day Zero,
21:34as I was just mentioning,
21:36profound heat waves,
21:40terrible hurricanes.
21:42How are governments in the world
21:45going to fulfill their responsibility
21:49to safeguard human rights?
21:54For example,
21:55the right to a healthy environment
21:58that is a human right.
21:59That is the reason why many young
22:02people right now are taking
22:04their governments to court.
22:05And now litigation has become even
22:08more important because they're not.
22:11Governments are not fulfilling the
22:13safeguard of this important right.
22:16And it's not only the right
22:17to a healthy environment,
22:18the right
22:21to live a happy life, etcetera.
22:23All the human rights that we have,
22:26climate change is going to threat
22:29directly our ability or the
22:32ability of governments to fulfill
22:35to safeguard basic human rights.
22:38So this is going to this also has a
22:41profound impact on human dignity and
22:46agency and autonomy.
22:48So many communities right
22:50now that are, let's say,
22:53being financed by development agencies,
22:57or that the money that comes for a
23:00certain mitigation or adaptation
23:02strategy comes from a very particular,
23:05let's say, agency or fund.
23:07And they put the policies,
23:08they put the the,
23:12the rules of the game.
23:14And sometimes those rules
23:16of the game are unfair.
23:18They lead to more disparity,
23:20to more social iniquity in the world.
23:24And then what? People need that money.
23:27So what does this tell us in terms of agency
23:30and autonomy if people need the money,
23:33but this is also taking to a place that
23:38is more unjust humiliation, degradation,
23:40the rise of eco fascism around the world.
23:45We can see it how so many people
23:48are blaming overpopulation.
23:50They're blaming the Global South
23:53because of their population.
23:56This is inaccurate. This is wrong.
23:58This is something that is not
24:00the way we should frame it.
24:02But many people are framing it in such
24:05a way Echo fascism is something real.
24:08It's something that is happening.
24:09That is,
24:10we can see it not only with extreme
24:14examples with like different
24:16shootings that have been taking
24:19place in the US for example,
24:20or the the the mass murders that happened
24:25in in New Zealand some years ago.
24:27The murders were blaming climate change
24:30and they and how they were actually
24:33doing us a favor by killing people,
24:36the planet where they were
24:38doing a favor or so they said.
24:40So this is something real and
24:41that is a little bit extreme.
24:43But in general terms this means I hate,
24:45I hate of people ahead of the poor,
24:48ahead of the most vulnerable.
24:50So this is something that we need
24:52to consider and of course it has a
24:54direct relation with human dignity
24:57and in terms of non discrimination,
25:01so many different aspects in which racism,
25:05discrimination
25:09includes new ways of discriminating people,
25:13the intersectionality that climate
25:16change creates the kind of racism,
25:19the kind of discrimination that we see
25:22with climate change creates new dynamics.
25:24And also and lastly, I can say that also
25:31it has an impact in the human dignity
25:33and our will being climate change and
25:35the current situation in terms of a
25:38loss of purpose or meaning of life.
25:42So many people right now,
25:43so many young people right now
25:46are facing anxiety, uncertainty,
25:49depression or even nihilism at the lack
25:54of control over what the future holds.
25:56We don't know what is going to happen and
25:59for many this is creating real anxiety,
26:03real terror even,
26:05not even only the young people,
26:08even my colleagues,
26:10climate change scientists,
26:12I can see it the way I leave it.
26:14Every day we're given the the,
26:16the current situation.
26:18So also is there a purpose or
26:21what kind of purpose can we find
26:24in such times of degradation?
26:25Because it is not only climate change,
26:29it is also the other environmental
26:30crisis that we're facing now.
26:32So we need to understand that
26:34preserving the well-being of our
26:36planet is inseparable from upholding
26:39the dignity of every human life
26:42affected by the changing climate.
26:44It is not only about decreasing the
26:48global greenhouse gases in it is not
26:51only about tackling climate change,
26:53but about stopping the suffering and
26:59the death of millions of people.
27:02So that means that human dignity
27:05is at its core of climate action.
27:08So preserving the welding of our
27:11planet cannot be seen different,
27:13cannot be seen in as a separate
27:16element from upholding the dignity
27:18of every human life,
27:19particularly because we are already
27:22vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
27:25But as the IPCC is showing us here in this,
27:28in this image that that came
27:31along with the synthesis report,
27:34we see that people that are born today
27:39will be facing an increasing probability
27:43of being impacted by extreme weather,
27:47by the different impacts of climate change.
27:52And this is a reality.
27:53This is the world that will very likely
27:58happen to the people who are born today,
28:02the people who are alive today, us.
28:05Right now.
28:06We're going to see more extreme
28:10elements that have a huge impact.
28:13And as I was saying,
28:15more importantly,
28:15because it is not only climate change,
28:18it is also the different the other crisis
28:21that we're facing such as biodiversity loss,
28:25ecosystem collapse,
28:26scarcity of resources.
28:29Here what you What you see in
28:32the screen is the Framework of
28:34Planetary Boundaries by Johann
28:36Roxrom and others from the Stockholm
28:39Resilience Center in 2009,
28:41showing us what is the safe space for
28:45humanity to to operate and then how.
28:48By 2009 where we were already
28:50overshooting three of the boundaries,
28:52by 2015 four boundaries were crossed,
28:56and now by 20236 boundaries have
28:59been crossed.
29:00So as you can see,
29:02we're beyond the safe operating
29:04space of humanity and this is
29:06not something that can be simply
29:08resolved from one day to the other.
29:12Mostly the planet is in a chaotic state
29:15and it will be very complex to deal
29:20to tackle with all these different
29:22crises with all their profound complexity.
29:26How are we going to to solve this?
29:28So this is basically entering
29:30and this is where the concept of
29:33Anthropocene becomes relevant.
29:35The Anthropocene is now then
29:38not only a concept,
29:40a geological concept that,
29:42as you may know, was proposed
29:44by Paul Krutz and the the Nobel
29:46Prize Paul Krutzen to identify
29:49in terms of taxonomy a new epoch,
29:52a new geological epoch
29:54different from the Holocene.
29:56But other than
30:00a taxonomy, this is a reality.
30:02This means the changing of the conditions
30:05of existence in this time and age,
30:08and this is what is most important.
30:10This is not only a concept,
30:13this is the changing of
30:15what it means to be human,
30:18of what it means to live in this time.
30:21So basically, the Anthropocene refers to
30:25a new epoch of the stabilization of the
30:28Earth's physical and biological systems.
30:31As we have seen, this is the world right now.
30:33This is something that is going
30:36to be extremely hard to tackle
30:38to OR to take it to where we were
30:42before in the Holocene right.
30:44So the preventable risks of the past
30:47are now have become imminent impacts
30:50and threats they zero is a reality now.
30:53We've heard about we need to
30:55take care of water for decades.
30:58But now it's a reality,
31:00and the Anthropocene is mostly
31:02what I want you to see is a shift,
31:05a change in the conditions of existence,
31:08of what it means to be human,
31:10of what it means to have a family,
31:12of what it means to live,
31:14to work in this time and age,
31:17and the impacts it has on our human
31:20dignity in a world, in our well-being.
31:23So what are these changes of conditions
31:26of existence we're going to be?
31:28We're starting to navigate because
31:30it's not in the future.
31:32We are already navigating into
31:34the Anthropocene with pandemics,
31:36with climate change,
31:37with the different environmental
31:39crisis we are already navigating.
31:41So we start to see the world
31:44changing to from the flourishing
31:47conditions of the Holocene.
31:50We're starting to see an unstable,
31:52degraded world.
31:53That means that in many different
31:57conditions are going to be unpredictable,
32:00contingent and most importantly,
32:04precarious.
32:05This is something that we need to understand.
32:07This means that we're going to
32:10be living in precarious times for
32:13a great many part of the world,
32:17for the population.
32:18And also this also means a limited
32:21capacity to solve and to adapt to
32:25these conditions of the Anthropocene.
32:27And this is something unprecedented here.
32:30What you see in this,
32:33in this image is where we've
32:35been as Homo sapiens,
32:37not only as a modern civilization,
32:39but every civilization that has existed,
32:44from the Greeks, Egypt, Mesopotamia,
32:49up to now all civilization
32:53has being during the Holocene.
32:58So now that we're starting to
33:00navigate into the Anthropocene,
33:02we're facing unprecedented
33:04conditions for humanity.
33:06We do not know what it
33:08means to do civilization,
33:10what it means to be living
33:11in a world that has nothing,
33:13that doesn't have the stable
33:16conditions of the Holocene,
33:18but is now unstable,
33:20that it is degraded,
33:21that it is precarious.
33:22We don't not know what it means to
33:25live in a kind of world such as that,
33:27but we are starting to navigate it.
33:31And also this changing of conditions.
33:34This is something from which
33:37an ethical element derives.
33:39This anthropos thing is not
33:41simply something for teachers.
33:42This is not something that
33:44naturally is happening.
33:46This, this is also happening because of
33:49current inaction of historical emissions
33:51or from people who are deliberately
33:56committing ecocide, destroying the
33:58planet in some way or the other.
34:00So the anthropos thing is not only
34:02the fortuitous, an unfortunate change
34:05in the conditions of existence,
34:07but it's also an act of violence.
34:10And we need to understand it as such,
34:12that this was done, this was perpetrated
34:16and perpetrated both by people,
34:19by responsible people.
34:21So as this, as this tweet mentions,
34:24it is common to think of climate and
34:26economical breakdown as a result of inaction.
34:28That sounds so, so passive.
34:30Or when we speak about the missions,
34:33it sounds absolutely passive,
34:35like unintended consequences.
34:37But what if it's the opposite?
34:41What if this was done?
34:42What if, what if?
34:44This is perpetrated by people,
34:46by decisions, by staling the negotiations,
34:51by increasing the percentage
34:54in fossil fuel lending,
34:57in funding.
34:57Right now as you can see to the right,
35:01this was also is something that was
35:04reported last year by the International
35:07Energy Agency and also that is
35:10published in The Lancet Countdown.
35:13See the amount of funding that is
35:16going right now into fossil fuels,
35:21the world, the different countries
35:23that are part of the Paris Agreement
35:26pledged to have 100,000 million
35:28dollars dollars of funding to
35:31mitigate climate change and to adapt.
35:34And that is nothing compared to
35:37the trillions of dollars that are
35:40being spent funding fossil fuels.
35:43So this is basically funding the climate
35:47catastrophe that is not so passive,
35:49that is actually quite active.
35:51So we have to also see that these
35:53anthropos and that these changing
35:55of conditions is not something that
35:57we are unfortunately are facing.
35:59But there is something,
36:00it is something violent,
36:01something that is the result of
36:06deliberate actions, deliberate violence.
36:09So in this time and age we will not
36:13only be vulnerable but also vulnerated,
36:16even by the, by,
36:18by the very act of being born.
36:21In this time and age.
36:23In the Anthropocene,
36:27people are born into a vulnerated situation.
36:32This means the kind of future,
36:33the kind of living that was available
36:37for people until not so long ago,
36:40is no longer available.
36:41For the people who will be born or who are
36:45living or who will live in the next decades,
36:49that means that they have been robbed.
36:52That means that they are
36:54already being vulnerated.
36:56So this is something that takes us
36:58to the very core of what is really
37:01unjust and happening right now.
37:03But we don't see it as such,
37:05because this is the clear example of
37:09what Rob Nixon calls slow violence.
37:13This kind of violence that is exerted
37:15right now in the world that we're facing,
37:18the kind of suffering,
37:20the kind of elements that are
37:22degrading our human dignity.
37:23We do not see them as violence.
37:25We see it as well the impacts of
37:28climate change, but not as a crime,
37:30not as something that was perpetrated.
37:32And and Rob Nixon explains that
37:34this is because of slow violence.
37:37And by slow violence,
37:38he says.
37:39I mentioned a violence that occurs
37:40gradually and out of sight,
37:42a violence of delayed destruction that
37:45is dispersed across time and space,
37:47an attritional violence that is
37:49typically not viewed as violence at all.
37:51And that is exactly the case that we
37:53see right now with climate change,
37:55with the different environmental crisis.
37:57So it says slow violence provokes
37:59us to expand our imagination
38:01of what constitutes harm.
38:03It insists we take seriously
38:05forms of violence that have,
38:06over time,
38:07become unmoored from their original causes,
38:10from gradually acidifying oceans to
38:13the incremental horrors of climate
38:15change to a myriad of other slowly
38:18unfolding environmental catastrophes.
38:20Slow violence demands we look
38:22beyond the immediate, the visceral,
38:24and the obvious in our explorations
38:27of social justice.
38:28We cannot forget this,
38:29that this kind of slow violence
38:31that is being exerted,
38:33I will be the what is changing the
38:35conditions of existence in the world.
38:38So basically,
38:39right now we suppose that human dignity,
38:43among other ethical principles,
38:45are immutable, that they do not change.
38:48But along with these degrading
38:50conditions of the Anthropocene,
38:52we can see, and we will see,
38:55that the very definitions of
38:57human dignity will also change,
38:59will also degrade.
39:01And that is what is most worrisome.
39:04What we think is human dignity
39:07right now or what we have thought
39:10during this time of the Holocene,
39:12is definitely not going to be
39:14the same as the kind of dignity
39:16of human dignity that will be
39:18possible in this Anthropocene.
39:20So what kind of human dignity
39:22and well-being is possible?
39:27And this is particularly important because
39:31along with the impacts of climate change
39:34along with environmental degradation,
39:36comes with the evaluation of ethical
39:39standards and of ethical standards
39:42of acceptability and dignity.
39:44And this is perhaps what worries me the most.
39:49What is acceptable or unacceptable today in
39:54ethical terms might change in the future.
39:58And here you can have a a very clear
40:01example of what I'm trying to say
40:04what you have here in this image.
40:07Is publicity from the government of
40:10Monterey that is actually trying to
40:15communicate in sort of good news saying
40:21since the June 30th, there will be water
40:27from 5:00 AM for at least seven hours.
40:31And they're saying it like some kind of
40:35good news and perhaps it is good news.
40:38This means that, well, OK, at least we're
40:41going to have seven hours of water.
40:44But is that ideal? Of course not.
40:50But suddenly that is what
40:52becomes ethically acceptable.
40:57So this is what is really worrisome,
40:59that our ethical standards of what it
41:03is acceptable are going to change given
41:06this degradation, given the scarcity,
41:08given the impacts of climate change.
41:10So what we would call unacceptable
41:15in terms of ethics today,
41:18or in terms of human dignity,
41:21what if we every day we face water scarcity?
41:26What if every year we face
41:30this terrible heat waves,
41:33or what has now become fire seasons,
41:37or the OR other kind of extreme weathers?
41:41What if this becomes normality?
41:44And that is something that
41:46also must worry us a lot.
41:48With the degradation of ethical standards,
41:52we also will face the
41:54normalization of the Anthropocene.
41:56This means that perhaps right now
42:00it still sounds like emergencies,
42:02like something unprecedented.
42:03But as we navigate through the
42:06impacts of the Anthropocene,
42:09then we're going to start to see
42:10that this is simply the new normal,
42:13that this turbulent world is
42:16now the new normal.
42:19So what are we going to
42:21normalize in this time?
42:23Are we normalizing,
42:25for example,
42:25here also the something that I found
42:30to live with 50 litres of
42:32or less of water per day.
42:35This is something that many of
42:36us are going to face now in the
42:39couple in the next couple of years.
42:41What if, for example,
42:43as this year happened, Iran announced
42:45nationwide shutdown due to soaring heat?
42:49What if this becomes something
42:51normal throughout the world?
42:53It will. How?
42:58How do we do life,
43:00or how to do life in a?
43:02If we normalize that,
43:04this is going to happen.
43:06So some questions for this times,
43:10some necessary reflections.
43:11And not only questions.
43:13It is necessary to continually
43:15stress that human dignity is deeply
43:18intertwined with climate change
43:21and environmental degradation.
43:22Failure to mitigate and adapt
43:24to climate change is an affront
43:26to human dignity and well-being.
43:28So what kind of human dignity will
43:31be possible in this degraded,
43:32turbulent world?
43:34So mostly because I was,
43:37as I mentioned,
43:39a dignified life in the Anthropocene
43:42will definitely not be the
43:45same as a dignified life in
43:49the Holocene we already faced,
43:52or in this Holocene world,
43:56profoundly unjust conditions of existence.
43:59But now with the environmental degradation,
44:03climate change,
44:04biodiversity laws,
44:05etcetera,
44:06then what kind of dignified life
44:09will we face with common day zeros?
44:12With all this frequent extreme weather,
44:16with this changing of conditions,
44:18how can we call this life dignified
44:22if this is our daily lives?
44:25This is already happening not
44:26only in Monterrey,
44:27very different cities in in
44:29Mexico and the world.
44:31They are simply now assuming
44:32that this is daily life.
44:33The daily life means not having water,
44:36that this means that we need to
44:38wait two weeks for a truck to come
44:41that will supply us with water.
44:44That is the normality right now.
44:47So if this is the situation,
44:50and with this is going,
44:51if this is the the the end
44:53of my presentation,
44:55we need to then move what I propose
44:58is to an ontology of precarity.
45:01This may sound like a
45:05a complex philosophical world,
45:07but mostly what it means is to use this
45:11is the philosophical or theoretical
45:13examination of the nature, existence,
45:15and fundamental characteristics,
45:17well, the characteristics of
45:20precarious conditions experienced
45:21by individuals or groups within
45:24society and in this time and age.
45:26So what does it mean to live?
45:29What does it mean to work?
45:30What does it mean to do medicine?
45:32What does it mean to do public
45:34policy in a time of precarity?
45:37We need to put this ontology of
45:41precarity at the core of what we discuss,
45:45be it in our daily lives
45:48or our professional lives.
45:49Precarity in this context relates
45:51to the state of insecurity,
45:53instability and vulnerability that
45:56individuals or communities experience
45:58concerning their livelihoods,
46:00well-being and socio economic
46:03conditions that we're going to
46:05see changing in the Anthropocene.
46:09So, mostly
46:13so we I can end this presentation.
46:15This ontology of precarity aims to provide
46:18a deeper understanding of the ontological
46:20aspects of insecurity and vulnerability,
46:22shedding light on the essence of
46:25these conditions within the human
46:27experience and societal frameworks.
46:29Let's include this ontology of precarity.
46:32When we face the suffering, the human
46:35dignity issues that we're going to face,
46:38that are we are starting to face,
46:40and we'll continue to face what
46:42we navigate in the Anthropocene.
46:43So simply to conclude,
46:45preserving the well-being of our
46:47planet is inseparable from upholding
46:49the dignity of every human life
46:51affected by the changing climate.
46:53But what if we cannot
46:56preserve this well-being?
46:57What if we cannot uphold this dignity
46:59that we that we could in the Holocene?
47:02The Anthropocene will force us,
47:04will force a change in the
47:06conditions of existence,
47:07and thus force us to rethink what
47:09is a dignified life in terms
47:11of degradation and turbulence.
47:13This force us to consider
47:15existentially what even can be a
47:18dignified life in these Anthropocene.
47:20So the grading conditions will
47:23also degrade our ethical standards.
47:26This is something we continuously
47:28need to look what do we consider
47:31that is acceptable today?
47:32We need to continuously challenge what
47:37is acceptable because it will change.
47:40And is it and and is it acceptable to accept,
47:44let's say this,
47:47this new condition of human dignity.
47:49So whatever the definition
47:51of well-being and dignity,
47:52in these New Times,
47:53we'll need to consider an ontology
47:55of precarity.
47:56The kind of life that we were used
47:58to in the whole thing simply is,
48:00will not be possible in these New Times.
48:03So we must consider also and that there
48:06is a part of human dignity that will
48:09be irreversibly lost as an ultimate
48:11injustice perpetrated To have this,
48:13to live in this world,
48:17to be forced to be to live in this world,
48:20means that there is an injustice that has
48:22been perpetrated and perpetuated both,
48:27and that is they,
48:29that creates injustice as a core
48:32condition of the Anthropocene.
48:35So we must constantly challenge
48:37our notions of what is ethically
48:40acceptable in this turbulent times.
48:43So with that,
48:44I thank you so much for your attention.
48:47I hope this can create an
48:50interesting dialogue.
48:50Thank you so much for your time.
48:55Thank you so much, Doctor Cottle.
48:57That was a truly masterful blend of
49:01thinking about science ethically
49:04and drawing in all of these
49:07critical ethical questions that
49:08I'm not seeing done elsewhere.
49:10So thank you so much.
49:12And I'm sure we have a lot of.
49:14I have a list of questions,
49:15but I'd like to open it up to any
49:18others who have questions to share.
49:25Please go ahead.
49:28I could start. Thanks for
49:30that great presentation.
49:33So
49:36you framed the Anthropocene
49:37as an act of violence,
49:40and actually that made me think about war.
49:44And there were a lot
49:45of analogies between what you
49:46were talking about and war.
49:49I mean I think we can conclude that war
49:51is ethically unacceptable for example
49:55and you know the the indignity of war,
50:00obvious people dying, the health,
50:02the displacement etcetera.
50:05So I just wondered, it sounds
50:06like you've thought about
50:07that as well. So definitely,
50:10definitely, definitely.
50:10I think that is a great example.
50:12That is a great example,
50:13a great analogy to think it in terms of war.
50:16If you're in the health sector then
50:19when you faced with the the impacts of
50:21health impacts of climate change and
50:24then try to think that you're not only
50:26medics working with people but are war.
50:28But are medics in times of war or during war
50:32the these are the kind of impacts the the,
50:36the OR the way we should frame it.
50:38I think that is pretty accurate,
50:40but by an invisible,
50:41let's say enemy of sorts by saying
50:45it is intangible but at the same time
50:48that we know that there are people
50:50responsible in the end for what is happening.
50:52So on one hand it is invisible,
50:55but on the other hand that
50:57is pretty specific.
50:58So war is pretty accurate.
51:08Any more questions?
51:14I would just like to ask,
51:15given your policy experience,
51:17how you've managed to bring
51:19these ethical constructs into
51:22your policy conversations and
51:24how that has gone in that realm.
51:29I think that is a very interesting question.
51:31I think many policy makers right now
51:35still are unable to come to terms to
51:41really understand, to assimilate,
51:45that the world we're starting to see
51:47and the world we will see in the next
51:50decades is not the same world that
51:52they have experienced in the past.
51:55I see many, many policy makers with
51:58my my personal experience that still
52:04underestimate the impacts of climate
52:06change on one hand and on the other hand
52:10they overestimate the capacity that people
52:12have or governments have or countries
52:15have to deal or to tackle climate change.
52:19And I think we're overestimating our
52:22capacity. And then many even for example
52:26in the government of of Monterey,
52:28they they thought of the day zero
52:32last year as a victory, not coming
52:35again to the war analogy as a victory,
52:39but that that was it that they faced water
52:43scarcity that year 2022 and that was it.
52:46That was the end of it.
52:47And they are not understanding that
52:50this is now a perpetual state that
52:52we're going to face of water scarcity.
52:55It's not a thing that is going to
52:57happen one year and that's it.
52:59But it is a perpetual state and
53:01I think many people,
53:02many people in governments,
53:04many people in the private sector
53:06still do not understand that this is
53:08not something that we're going to
53:09continue to be able to put under the
53:12map the OR to deal with it in the same
53:17way we could do it in the Holocene.
53:19That this is really a change of conditions
53:21and that it is going to the Anthropocene.
53:26The different impacts are going to
53:28change these conditions of existence,
53:31and many people have not assimilated that.
53:34We're really navigating the
53:36beginnings of the Anthropocene.
53:38And what does and what does it imply?
53:56don't know if there are
53:58any other questions. I
54:00have a question.
54:02I feel like a lot of people within
54:03the policy field are really hesitant
54:06to address that we're overshooting
54:08or that we will overshoot to
54:11being in that field and having to create,
54:13you know, different documents with teams.
54:15How, how do you navigate those kinds of
54:17conversation to to be clear that, you know,
54:19evidence shows we're going to overshoot,
54:20but no one really wants to say
54:22that we're going to go against
54:23Paris or or things like that.
54:25Yeah, Yeah. I I understand the
54:27point in terms of diplomacy that we
54:29cannot simply say, oh, we're going
54:31to overshoot because that could
54:35turn out to
54:39like a pessimist attitude.
54:42And so in diplomacy,
54:44it might be important to keep,
54:46let's say, the good spirits and
54:47to say that it is still possible
54:49to change the current scenarios.
54:52But in very practical terms,
54:54what I do in my particular, in my work,
54:58in my everyday work as a sustainable
55:01officer is let's let's not just hope
55:04for the best and but to prepare
55:08for what is most likely to happen.
55:11So that means using the
55:14scenarios the the representative
55:16concentration pathways of the IPCC,
55:19not from the ideal world,
55:23but with the ranges that include the the
55:28kind of situation that we're going to face.
55:31So this simply means working
55:33with what we know is really
55:35more probable that will happen.
55:38So assume not just hope for the best,
55:44but assume the implications of
55:481.5° and possibly of two degrees.
55:51At least in the next coming 2 decades,
55:54we need to assume it.
55:55It is going to happen.
55:56I mean, there is still a chance,
55:58a mathematical probability of keeping below.
56:01But in terms of public policy
56:03or any kind of public policy,
56:06university policy,
56:07private sector policy,
56:09we need to start to assume that
56:11this is the kind of increase that
56:12we're going to see,
56:13not just hoping for the best.
56:18Can I see there's a question in the chat.
56:26Yeah, it's a it's a question. Go ahead.
56:30Sorry, sorry.
56:30I just thought I would come in.
56:32Yeah. Hi everyone.
56:33I'm joining you here from Scotland.
56:36I work in higher education and
56:38health and social care and I
56:40have a real passion and interest
56:42around sustainability education
56:43for student development.
56:44And I suppose my my
56:47question is around how we
56:52prepare our graduates in
56:54health and social care for
56:59the environment that you know the
57:01situations that they're they're going
57:03to face in terms of of climate change.
57:05And I find it very difficult to advocate
57:09for single development goals within
57:12our higher education within senior
57:16management positions whereby it's not
57:18an area of priority if you like and
57:22it's how you navigate that when you
57:25feel that you don't have that kind
57:28of support within higher education.
57:31That's what I'm finding moment.
57:32So I'm kind of looking outwards to kind
57:34of gather information and to to link in
57:37with other individuals like yourself.
57:39But I find it really challenging
57:42to try and develop that area of
57:45research when it's not a priority,
57:47which I find really difficult.
57:48But, but yeah,
57:50it was just what what advice you you
57:52would have or what experience people have
57:55had around how we educate individuals,
57:59the workforce and health and
58:02social care is like,
58:04you know,
58:04we haven't scratched surface with that
58:07definitely so important
58:10what you're mentioning.
58:11And this is something that
58:12I constantly think of.
58:13This means a change also,
58:15I mean in every aspect of society,
58:17but in terms of universities,
58:20this means a change,
58:21a shift that is required in the
58:24very philosophy of how we educate.
58:27This is something that is going to be very,
58:29very important.
58:30Recently I was also doing a presentation
58:32precisely on education and climate change.
58:35And the question that I was developing
58:38is are are universities right now
58:41preparing us really for the kind of
58:44world that we're going to face right now?
58:47They might have university might
58:51be preparing for jobs, but are they
58:55really preparing for what it means?
58:57For what day zero means for the
59:01implications of day zero of not having food?
59:05What if there's a break
59:07in the chain of supply?
59:09How many of us do we know what to do,
59:12how to grow food?
59:13How many of us know how to recycle water?
59:17How do how many of us need
59:19know how to harvest water?
59:21Etcetera.
59:22So how are universities preparing
59:27to deal with actual crisis,
59:30with actual contingencies,
59:31with the actual implications of what
59:34will mean to live in the Anthropocene?
59:37So that is a profound questions
59:39and of course that could take us
59:41to another another whole lecture on
59:43that on the philosophy of education.
59:45But that, I think,
59:46is a very important question.
59:48Our university,
59:49our universities preparing us really
59:53to deal to actually deal with real
59:58world impacts of this car city of the,
01:00:02of, of the Anthropocene.
01:00:07And with that,
01:00:08I think this conversation could
01:00:11last about a week at least.
01:00:13This has been magnificent.
01:00:15Professor Caudill,
01:00:15thank you so much for your time.
01:00:17Thank you everyone for joining
01:00:19from all over the world.
01:00:20And I think you've given us so
01:00:22much to think about as we move
01:00:24forward in our current positions.
01:00:26So really appreciate it.
01:00:27Thank you everyone for joining as well.
01:00:30Thank you so much for these invitations.
01:00:32Thank you everyone for the time.
01:00:34Thank you. Thank you.