On Friday I met with EGBC, our provincial engineering and geoscientist licensing body to discuss the ethics of fossil fuel projects.
My position is that with the knowledge we have about the impact of these projects on climate change, the damage to the environment, health effects on local communities, and the fact that fossil fuels no longer provide the cheapest form of energy there is no ethical position to justify these projects. As such fossil fuel projects clearly contravene the ethical priority of upholding safety of human health and the environment.
Suffice it to say but the licensing body is unable to adopt this position, just as they are unable to condemn weapons manufacturing and alcohol and tobacco (!?).
However, the good news is that beginning in 2023 they are introducing compulsory training for all licensed engineers and geoscientists on the science of climate change and the risks of continued burning of fossil fuels. Hopefully it is comprehensive (and accurate) enough that questions of ethics are clear cut and unavoidable!
Hopefully we will see more professional regulatory and licensing bodies taking these sorts of actions (even if they stop short of publicly condemning fossil fuels)
#ClimateChange #ContinuingProfessionalDevelopment #Engineering #Ethics
