Is There a Moral Case for Fossil Fuels? with Alex Epstein - WBD493

Alex Epstein is a philosopher and author of ‘The Moral Case for
Fossil Fuels’ and ‘Fossil Future’. In this interview, we discuss
how energy abundance has enabled humans to flourish, whether
climate mastery has made us unnaturally safe, and the need for
more low-cost reliable energy.


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According to a recent survey for the UN, 64% of people believe
that climate change is a global emergency. News reports are
dominated by stories of floods, heatwaves, droughts, hurricanes
and other events, highlighted as potential signs of a warming
world. The implicit assumption is that urgent reductions in the
use of fossil fuels are required to minimise the potential
impacts.


But increasingly, a growing collective is questioning these
opinions. Exploitation of fossil fuels is linked to
civilisations' rapid development in the 250 years since the
industrial revolution. Yet, billions still lack access to
adequate levels of energy. The concern is alternative energy
sources won’t be able to meet current demands, let alone demands
that aren’t currently being met.


Furthermore, there is scepticism regarding climate change
projections and forecast impacts on societies. Those who hold
such views are labelled as climate change ‘deniers’, a pejorative
term meant to imply resistance to science and facts. This is
emblematic of how combative and polarised the two sides of the
debate have become. Some are now refusing to engage.


Perhaps, such division is understandable given the stakes. If
global warming has the capacity to be an existential threat this
century, then delays in curtailing fossil fuels could be
catastrophic. Equally, if such warnings turn out to be wrong then
we could be constraining the empowerment of billions of people.
In our view, this is why we should remain engaged in the debate.