The Ethics of Early Warning Systems for Climate Change - Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems for Climate Change - page 285

respond to environmental disasters because of the resources and knowledge available
to them; yet most developing countries have less resources and infrastructure and
are more vulnerable to climate-related negative impacts. As such, a solid ethical
argument can be made that developed countries ought to contribute to the protec-
tion and well-being of their neighbours out of a sense of global social justice. The
building of EWS is one measure that fi ts into this reasoning by building a proactive
rather than a reactive system.
The need to build capacity for the most vulnerable communities, in order for
them to be prepared for and to be able to adequately respond to climate change, is
growing in recognition. Future generations may be even more strongly affected by
climate change, yet they often lack a voice in many international institutions and
remain underrepresented - or unrepresented - in present-day decisions on climate
change. Communities should be empowered to reduce disaster risks by having
access to information that enables them to implement actions for disaster risk reduc-
tion. EWS does exactly this, by offering timely and actionable information to all
potentially affected populations. To be effective, however, a participatory approach
must be developed which fl ows in two directions not just from top down but also
from the community level to large national and international organizations.
In this section the vulnerability of three main populations will be explored in
relation to EWS for climate change. These are: small island nation states, impover-
ished agrarian societies such as much of sub-Saharan Africa and indigenous popula-
tions. Important ethical concerns to be explored include what we owe to vulnerable
communities, what is the duty to warn vulnerable populations and how justice to
future generations can be maintained and enacted. These will be considered in light
of early warning systems for climate change. Lastly, what we can learn and the
signifi cant challenges faced by these communities relating to the consequences for
dignity and survival will be explored.

15.11 Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

'While Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are among those that contribute least
to global climate change and sea-level rise, they are among those that would suffer
most from the adverse effects of such phenomena and could in some cases become
uninhabitable…' (Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small
Island Developing States 1994 ). SIDS tend to share similar sustainable develop-
ment challenges, and low-lying ones in particular are acutely vulnerable to environ-
mental degradation, climate change, overexploitation of fi sheries, land-based
pollution and natural disasters. The vulnerability of SIDS is increased by small
populations, limited available resources and a strong dependence on international
trade (UNDESA 2013 ) all of which limit their capacity to respond to climatic chal-
lenges. Currently, there are 52 vulnerable SIDS (listed in Table 15.1 ) across the
Atlantic, Indian and Pacifi c oceans that may well benefi t from an additional layer -
or layers - of preparation through early warning systems.