Opinion no 27 : an ethical framework for assessing research, production and use of energy

Abstract

On 28 June 2011 the Council reached a political agreement on a Commission proposal for a nuclear research and training programme for 2012–13. Although the Council’s discussion has been successfully concluded, some Member States felt that a broad discourse on ethical issues and sustainable energy mix in Europe should take place and indicated the need of having an Opinion of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) on this topic. On 19 December 2011, the President of the European Commission requested the EGE to ‘contribute to the debate on a sustainable energy mix in Europe by studying the ethical impact of research on different energy sources on human well-being.’ The EGE has accepted this request and decided to focus on the ethical aspects of the use of different energy sources in Europe, as foreseen in the EGE remit (74). The group recognises the need to consider issues such as security of supply, storage of energy where necessary due to the nature of electricity generation particularly where intermittent sources are utilised, competition for water and food in the case of biofuels, waste treatment and/or storage and pollution. The Group decided: to address the ethical issues arising from energy use within the EU energy agenda, mix of energy, consequences for the future, energy policy and regulation (including environmental considerations), precautionary principle, and intergenerational justice; to identify the ethical criteria on the manner in which decisions concerning research on sources of energy (in view of the Council’s decision) are to be taken on an informed basis and the implications arising from the use of energy different areas; to propose an integrated ethics framework for the purpose of addressing the ethical issues related to the production, use, storage and distribution of energy; to identify the ethically relevant areas of energy research.