Why Ethics Must Be at the Heart of Global Climate Action

Posted on September, 21 2025

If science shows us the urgency for climate action, then ethics must show us the way, writes Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead and COP20 President, in a new discussion paper prepared for COP30.

In 2015, the world celebrated the Paris Agreement as a landmark in the global fight against climate change. The principle of “leave no one behind,” carried over from the Sustainable Development Goals, was recognized as a core ethical foundation of the agreement. It represented values of equity, inclusiveness, and justice—ideas essential to tackling both the causes and consequences of climate change. 

Yet, in the years that followed, these values drifted into the background. Ethical discussions became marginal, often confined to faith-based initiatives such as Pope Francis’ Laudato Si and Laudate Deum. Meanwhile, major emitters continued to overlook the human cost of their emissions, especially for the most vulnerable communities in the Global South. 

Now, in 2025, there are signs of change. On the road to COP30, Brazil has introduced the Global Ethical Stocktake, putting ethics squarely back at the centre of the climate negotiations. It acknowledges what has long been missing from the process and challenges us to rebuild climate action on the foundations of justice, responsibility, and solidarity. 

In this article, I reflect on how an ethical approach can strengthen climate action—and why embedding ethics into negotiations is not optional, but necessary. 

Building the Climate Narrative on Ethical Values 

The climate crisis is not just a scientific or political problem—it is also a deeply moral one. Rising emissions and warming temperatures are tied to inequitable development, unchecked consumption, and a reliance on fossil fuels, even when their dangers are well known. 

Embedding ethics into climate talks means recognizing the values that should guide us: respect, responsibility, justice, integrity, solidarity, freedom, tolerance, empathy, and equity. These are not abstract ideals. They are the compass we need to navigate the crisis and ensure the planet remains liveable for current and future generations. 

If we ignore this ethical dimension, the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN climate process risk becoming hollow commitments—fine words without meaningful action. 

The Role of Courts in Advancing an Ethical Climate Narrative 

In recent months, two international courts have issued landmark opinions that reshape the conversation about responsibility and justice in the climate crisis. 

• The Inter-American Court of Human Rights declared that the world is facing a “climate emergency.” Crucially, it recognized that the right to a healthy environment is inseparable from the right to a healthy climate. It laid out three obligations for states: to respect rights, to guarantee rights with reinforced due diligence, and to embed these responsibilities in domestic law. 
• The International Court of Justice reaffirmed that climate treaties are built on the principles of equity and intergenerational justice. It clarified that failing to submit or implement national climate commitments (NDCs) is not just poor performance—it is a breach of international obligations, a wrongful act that triggers the duty to provide reparation. 

These decisions bring ethics and law closer together. They highlight that access to food, water, housing, and a safe climate are fundamental human rights—and that governments cannot ignore their obligations without consequence. 

Restoring Credibility Through Ethics 

One of the biggest criticisms of global climate negotiations is the gap between promises and delivery. Emissions are not falling fast enough. Adaptation is underfunded. Finance for vulnerable countries lags commitments. The result is widespread frustration and a loss of credibility in the process. 

Restoring credibility is not just a technical matter—it is a moral imperative. Countries must not only increase the ambition of their NDCs but also fully implement them. Accountability rules are essential to identify those who delay or fail to act.

The same applies to the private sector. Many corporations make bold claims about being “carbon neutral” or “net zero,” yet their pathways often lack scientific rigor and independent monitoring. When such claims amount to greenwashing, they erode trust. 

Ethics provides the framework to rebuild credibility—by linking obligations with accountability and connecting responsibilities directly to citizens and consumers. 

Ethics as a Guide for Negotiators 

As we approach COP30—more than three decades after the creation of the UNFCCC—negotiators continue to face slow and politicized processes. Too often, meetings are delayed by disputes over agendas, while the climate emergency worsens in real time. 

Negotiators may represent their states, but they must also reckon with the moral consequences of inaction. Every year of delay brings more lives lost, more ecosystems destroyed, and more communities displaced. 

The Global Ethical Stocktake should serve as a constant reminder of these consequences, awakening the moral conscience that must guide climate diplomacy. Just as the Global Stocktake in 2023 (COP28) assessed progress and recommended next steps, the ethical debate must reach the heart of negotiations to unlock what political posturing has left unresolved. 

Centring Adaptation, Resilience, and Loss and Damage 

Since the early 1990s, countries have committed to both decarbonization and building resilience. Yet adaptation lags far behind. Communities most exposed to climate impacts—particularly in the Global South—still lack the resources to protect themselves. 

This failure is not only practical but ethical. Without adaptation, vulnerable populations lose the material conditions for survival: food, water, housing, and livelihoods. 

The ethical debate must focus strongly on adaptation, loss and damage, and just transition policies. It must highlight the values of solidarity, justice, empathy, and equity in building resilience. 

Promoting Synergies Across the Rio Conventions 

The climate crisis does not exist in isolation. It is closely linked with biodiversity loss, desertification, and drought. Addressing these interconnected crises requires coordination across the three Rio Conventions. 

While merging them would not be appropriate, fostering dialogue and joint action is essential. Ethical values—respect, responsibility, equity—compel us to use resources efficiently, strengthen coordination among governments, and generate multiple benefits for people and ecosystems alike. A fragmented approach is no longer sufficient. 

Respecting Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities 

Any ethical climate debate must put inclusion at its core. Indigenous peoples and local communities, who have often borne the brunt of exclusion and rights violations, must be central actors in climate solutions. 

Their traditional knowledge is not a relic of the past but a living resource. It complements scientific expertise and offers proven pathways for adaptation and ecosystem stewardship. Recognizing and respecting these contributions is both an ethical obligation and a practical necessity. 

Making the Global Ethical Debate Permanent 

If the Global Ethical Stocktake remains a one-off event, its potential will be wasted. It must become a permanent feature of the climate process. 

Brazil should present the results of the Global Ethical Debate at COP30 and propose that future ethical stocktakes align with the Global Stocktake cycle. Champions could be appointed to ensure follow-up, and mechanisms should be created to embed ethics into national planning processes, from NDCs to adaptation plans. 

Such steps would make ethics not just a side conversation but a structural element of climate governance. 

A Call to Conscience 

The climate crisis is a test not only of our science and technology but of our values and humanity. Denialism, polarization, and geopolitical rivalries continue to stall progress. Re-centring ethics offers a bridge between governments and citizens, between technical negotiations and lived realities.

As we look toward COP30 and beyond, the message is clear: ethics is not an optional extra. It is the foundation on which meaningful climate action must be built. If we embrace this truth, guided by both intergenerational and intergenerational responsibility, we can turn commitments into action and leave behind a liveable planet for all.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. The results of the Global Ethical Debate organized by Brazil be presented in plenary at COP30, to share with Parties and other stakeholders its main conclusions and recommendations.
2. Brazil propose the Global Ethical Debate be held with a periodicity aligned to the Global Stocktake, carried out at COP28 and scheduled to occur again at COP33 in 2028.
3. In the interim between Global Ethical Stocktakes, mechanisms be developed to ensure the integration of ethical considerations into planning processes—such as NDCs, National Adaptation Plans, and Long-Term Strategies—and that ethical dialogue be promoted at the national level.
4. A figure similar to the Champions of the Action Agenda be established to follow up on recommendations emerging from the Global Ethical Stocktake. These Champions should hold a five-year mandate and be proposed as part of the conclusions of COP30.
5. The UNFCCC Secretariat and the Office of the UN Secretary-General define a mechanism of support for the regular development of the Global Ethical Stocktake.