I am here today, as a philosopher and human being, to show my support for this historic lawsuit.

To me it is an easy decision, a no-brainer. If all the oil still to be found on this planet is extracted and released into the atmosphere, our civilization will quite simply not survive. To go after the most distant and extreme oil on earth simply cannot be lawful, to ours or future generations.

An important basis for all ethics has been The Golden Rule or the Principle of Reciprocity: you shall do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But the golden rule can no longer just have a horizontal dimension. In other words: A «we» and «the others». We must realise that the Principle of Reciprocity also has a vertical dimension: you shall do to the next generation what you wished the previous generation had done to you.

It’s as simple as that. You shall love your neighbour as you love yourself. This must obviously include your neighbour generation. It has to include absolutely everyone who will live on the Earth after us. Les mer «Statement from Jostein Gaarder / Norwegian Environmental Organizations sues Norway over Arctic Oil Drilling» →