Abstract
In this paper we suggest considering sustainability as a moral framework based on social justice, which can be used to evaluate technological choices. In order to make sustainability applicable to discussions of nuclear energy production and waste management, we focus on three key ethical questions, namely: (i) what should be sustained; (ii) why should we sustain it; and (iii) for whom should we sustain it. This leads us to conceptualize the notion of sustainability as a set of values, including safety, security, environmental benevolence, resource durability, and economic viability of the technology. The practical usefulness of sustainability as a moral framework is highlighted by demonstrating how it is applicable for understanding intergenerational dilemmas—between present and future generations, but also among different future generations—related to nuclear fuel cycles and radioactive waste management.
Highlights
There is probably no other energy technology that could give rise to controversy as much and for as long as nuclear technology
This paper aims at unveiling these complex moral questions of nuclear energy production and waste management by using sustainability as a moral framework
Some scholars argued that we only have a positive intergenerational duty with a limited temporal reach (e.g., [37]), while other scholars defend a temporally extended negative duty to refrain from actions that could be harmful for future generations (e.g., [38]). Others have defended both a negative and positive duty with varying temporal reaches (e.g., [39]); the morally desirable option should be formulated when we consider these duties and the extent of their moral stringency [40]. We build on the latter line of reasoning by arguing that for nuclear energy, safety, security, and environmental benevolence—which are the values associated with the no harm duty—should be ensured for both close and remote future generations, while resource durability and economic viability—associated with the duty to sustain well-being—have a shorter temporal reach and should only be warranted for close future generations
Summary
There is probably no other energy technology that could give rise to controversy as much and for as long as nuclear technology. We argue that sustainability could best be conceived as a moral framework that consists of several moral values Such a framework will help us escape the yes/no dichotomy and assess the different possibilities of nuclear energy production and waste management, according to the important ethical issues they give rise to—being safety, security, environmental concerns, resource durability, and economic viability of the technology. Rather than referring to sustainability in a dichotomous mode, we need to revisit the concept of sustainability in the context of nuclear energy We argue that it should be conceptualized as a moral framework in order to account for the complexity of ethically relevant issues associated with nuclear energy technologies, and to actively contribute to a proactive ethical reflection
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