Environmental ethics—the study of ethical questions raised by human relations with the nonhuman environment—emerged as an important subfield of philosophy during the 1970s. It is now a flourishing area of research. This article provides a review of the secular, Western traditions in the field. It examines both anthropocentric and nonanthropocentric claims about what has value, as well as divergent views about whether environmental ethics should be concerned with bringing about best consequences, respecting principles and rights, or embodying environmental virtues. The article also briefly considers two critical traditions—ecofeminism and environmental pragmatism—and explores some of the difficult environmental ethics questions posed by anthropogenic climate change.

This book is about the extent, origins and causes of the environmental crisis. Dr Northcott argues that Christianity has lost the biblical awareness of the inter-connectedness of all life. He shows how Christian theologians and believers might recover a more ecologically friendly belief system and life style. The author provides an important corrective to secular approaches to environmental ethics, including utilitarian individualism, animal rights theories and deep ecology. He contends that neither the stewardship tradition, nor the panentheist or process ecological theologies have successfully mobilised the Christian tradition. He demonstrates that the Hebrew Bible contains an ecological message which is close to the traditions of many primal and indigenous peoples and which provides an important corrective to instrumental attitudes to nature in much modern philosophy and Christian ethics.

C-EENRG’s core mission is to conduct integrative research on the governance of environmental transitions, understood as social and technological processes driven by environmental constraints that lead to fundamental changes in social organisation. Our work draws upon the knowledge of the drivers and implications of environmental change generated in various centres across the University of Cambridge and focuses on the law and governance dimensions of environmental transitions. Law is viewed as a technology to bring, guide and/or manage environment-driven societal transformation.

The Center for Climatic Research focuses on interdisciplinary research regarding the Earth’s climate system, including the causes and impacts of historical, ongoing, and projected climate variability and change, with geographic focuses that span from local to global scale. The center’s diverse activities and societal contributions include the training of students and postdoctoral researchers as the next generation of climate scientists, development of guidance for state government and regional stakeholders regarding climate change impacts and adaptation, and advancement of scientific understanding of the coupled Earth system.

The Environmental Change Institute was established in 1991 ‘to organize and promote interdisciplinary research on the nature, causes and impact of environmental change and to contribute to the development of management strategies for coping with future environmental change’. 

Over the last 25 years we have developed an international track record for research in climate, ecosystems and energy and a growing expertise in the fields of food and water. We respond to the challenges in these areas through an interdisciplinary and integrated programme of understanding processes of change; exploring sustainable solutions; and influencing change through education and partnership.