Air Pollution, Health and Ethics

Recent findings about nitrogen dioxide pollution in Britain and about particulate pollution worldwide raise ethical issues about the protection of human (and animal) health [1]. Many urban areas of Britain have been found to have illegally high levels of NO2. But it turns out that there is a world-wide problem with particulates, particularly in large towns and cities in Third world countries, as well as in much of Europe and North America. In many cases diesel engines are to blame. Does it follow that these should be phased out as soon as possible? Many of us would answer ‘yes'. But before we do, we should reflect on the broader picture. The aims of this presentation are to begin this undertaking, adduce relevant ethical principles, and to draw conclusions which are not invariably the ones that we might well adopt prior to reflection. First, can we phase out diesel engines? With automobiles, this is certainly possible, and it is open to governments to introduce scrappage schemes, encouraging people to trade in their diesel-powered cars and replace them with petrol-powered ones. But even this, as we shall see, is not unproblematic.