99751 - Environmental Ethics, Sustainability And Decisions (4 Cfu)

Learning outcomes

The purpose of this course is to present the main environmental ethics in terms of duties and rights in the relationships between humans and between humans and nature. The main sustainability paradigms (i.e., weak sustainability, a-growth, de-growth, strong sustainability, linear economy, circular economy) will be discussed in terms of the environmental ethics which characterise them. The main sessment and decision methodologies (i.e., Cost-Benefit Analysis, Multi-Criterion Analysis, Life-Cycle Assessment) will be presented in terms of the sustainability paradigms which typify them. Workshops will be organised where each student will present an assigned scientific article from the recent literature, with a subsequent classroom discussion.

Course contents

The purpose of this course is to present the main environmental ethics in terms of duties and rights in the relationships between humans and between humans and nature. The main sustainability paradigms (i.e., weak sustainability, a-growth, de-growth, strong sustainability, linear economy, circular economy) will be discussed in terms of the environmental ethics which characterize them. The main environmental policies (taxes, standards, subsidies, permits, conservation areas, harvest rights, national laws and regulations, bilateral and multilateral agreements) will be presented in terms of the sustainability paradigms, which typify them. The structure of this course can be summarized as follows:

• Environmental Ethics
• Environmental Sustainability
• Environmental Policy Measures
  • Policies to Achieve Efficiency
  • Policies to Achieve Equity

Readings/Bibliography

Zagonari, F. (2022) Environmental Ethics, Sustainability and Decisions: Literature Problems and Suggested Solutions, Springer, Heidelberg

Zagonari, F. (2020) Environmental sustainability is not worth pursuing unless it is achieved for ethical reasons, Nature – Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

Teaching methods

Together with traditional academic lectures, workshops will be organized where each student will present an assigned scientific article from the recent literature, with a subsequent classroom discussion.

Assessment methods

Written exam, 90 minutes, 3 open questions.

Office hours

See the website of Fabio Zagonari