Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Sci Eng Ethics. 2017 Oct;23(5):1431-1452. doi: 10.1007/s11948-017-9884-4. Epub 2017 Mar 9.
In this paper, we argue that the professional engineering institutions ought to develop a Declaration of Climate Action. Climate change is a serious global problem, and the majority of greenhouse gas emissions come from industries that are enabled by engineers and represented by the engineering professional institutions. If the professional institutions take seriously the claim that a profession should be self-regulating, with codes of ethics that go beyond mere obedience to the law, and if they take their own ethical codes seriously, recognising their responsibility to the public and to future generations (and also recognising a duty of "responsible leadership"), the professional institutions ought to develop a declaration for engineers, addressing climate change. Our argument here is largely inspired by the history of the Declaration of Helsinki. The Declaration of Helsinki was created by the medical profession for the profession, and it held physicians to a higher standard of ethical conduct than was found in the legal framework of individual countries. Although it was not originally a legal document, the influence of the Declaration can be seen in the fact that it is now enshrined in law in a number of different countries. Thus, we argue that the engineering profession could, and should, play a significant role in the abatement of climate change by making changes within the profession. If the engineering profession sets strict standards for professional engineers, with sanctions for those who refuse to comply, this could have a significant impact in relation to our efforts to develop a coordinated response to climate change.
在本文中，我们认为专业工程机构应该制定一份气候行动计划宣言。气候变化是一个严重的全球问题，而大多数温室气体排放来自工程师所推动的行业，这些行业由工程专业机构代表。如果专业机构认真对待声称一个专业应该自我监管，其道德规范不仅仅是遵守法律，并且认真对待自己的道德规范，承认其对公众和后代的责任（以及承认“负责任领导”的责任），那么专业机构应该为工程师制定一份应对气候变化的宣言。我们的论点主要受到《赫尔辛基宣言》历史的启发。《赫尔辛基宣言》是由医学界为该行业制定的，它要求医生遵守比个别国家法律框架更高的道德行为标准。尽管它最初不是法律文件，但《宣言》的影响力可以从这样一个事实上看出，即在许多不同的国家，它现在都被纳入法律。因此，我们认为，工程行业可以而且应该通过在行业内做出改变，在减少气候变化方面发挥重要作用。如果工程行业为专业工程师制定严格的标准，并对那些拒绝遵守的人进行制裁，这可能会对我们协调应对气候变化的努力产生重大影响。
