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Sustainability, Ethics and Nuclear Energy: Escaping the Dichotomy

Author

Listed:
  • Céline Kermisch

    (Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires en Bioéthique, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 50 av. F. D. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium)

  • Behnam Taebi

    (Department of Technology, Values and Innovation, Delft University of Technology, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
    Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA)

Abstract

In this paper we suggest considering sustainability as a moral framework based on social justice, which can be used to evaluate technological choices. In order to make sustainability applicable to discussions of nuclear energy production and waste management, we focus on three key ethical questions, namely: (i) what should be sustained; (ii) why should we sustain it; and (iii) for whom should we sustain it. This leads us to conceptualize the notion of sustainability as a set of values, including safety, security, environmental benevolence, resource durability, and economic viability of the technology. The practical usefulness of sustainability as a moral framework is highlighted by demonstrating how it is applicable for understanding intergenerational dilemmas—between present and future generations, but also among different future generations—related to nuclear fuel cycles and radioactive waste management.

Suggested Citation

  • Céline Kermisch & Behnam Taebi, 2017. "Sustainability, Ethics and Nuclear Energy: Escaping the Dichotomy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-13, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:3:p:446-:d:93345
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rita Vasconcellos Oliveira, 2018. "Back to the Future: The Potential of Intergenerational Justice for the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-16, February.
    2. Maria-Teresa Bosch-Badia & Joan Montllor-Serrats & Maria-Antonia Tarrazon-Rodon, 2018. "Sustainability and Ethics in the Process of Price Determination in Financial Markets: A Conceptual Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-24, May.
    3. Behnam Taebi & Jan H. Kwakkel & Céline Kermisch, 2020. "Governing climate risks in the face of normative uncertainties," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(5), September.

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