1. 1 Challenge the future Energie, risico, ethiek en emoties Prof.dr. Sabine Roeser Philosophy Departments of TU Delft & Twente University NWO-VIDI-fellow 2010-2015 Dr.ir. Behnam Taebi Philosophy Department of TU Delft

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4. 4 Debates about risky technologies Conventional approaches to risk do not work: stalemates between proponents and opponents Experts vs public 2 Pitfalls in current risk politics, both based on idea that emotions are irrational

5. 5 Challenge the future Technocratic pitfall Ignore emotions and values Abstract rationality, statistics, formal models e.g. CO2 storage in Barendrecht

6. 6 Challenge the future Populist pitfall Do whatever public wants ‘Subjective, irrational gut reactions’ Eg CO2 storage in Groningen

7. 7 Challenge the future Ethics of technology Ethical principles Technological reality What is ethically at stake? Which ethical principle is applicable? Making principles specific Presuppositions and moral opinions Conflicting interests and moral dilemmas Offering constructive account of moral phenomenon

8. 8 Challenge the future Emotions as signals of ethical aspects of risk Emotions indispensable source of ethical insight Also concerning ethical aspects of technological risk Sympathy, fear, indignation, enthusiasm Point to morally salient aspects of technologies Such as risks, benefits, autonomy, fairness, justice, equity, virtue, responsibility, care Requires different approach to debates about risk: Take emotions as starting point of discussion Avoid the 2 pitfalls

9. 9 Challenge the future Correcting Emotion through Emotion Emotions can be misguided, but: Emotions can be reflective Possibility of shifting points of view Caring for the wellbeing of others Reflective emotions can help us assess initial emotions (cf. Lacewing 2005) E.g. solve NIMBY-problem (Roeser 2010) Altruistic emotions can help overcome egoistic emotions (cf. Robert Frank) Eg windmill parks: address and discuss concerns instead of dismissing them or taking them as inevitable

10. 10 Challenge the future Moral emotions and nuclear energy Compassion with victims of nuclear disaster (Roeser 2011) Feelings of responsibility toward future generations (Taebi, Roeser and Van de Poel 2012) Versus compassion with victims of coal mining and climate change (Roeser 2012) Dilemma Nuclear energy cannot be easily dismissed given our energy consumption

11. 11 Challenge the future Distributive justice & nuclear power Creating a problem of justice to future generations Our temporal position and the problem of “Moral Corruption” (Stephen Gardiner) Moral dilemmas of nuclear fuel cycles Many trade-offs need to be made when we choose a fuel cycle We enjoy lion’s share of the benefits Non-renewable resources and long-lived waste

12. 12 Challenge the future Existing fuel cycles: open & close

13. 13 Challenge the future Public values at stake Safety Protecting people from accidental harmful effects of radiation Security: sabotage and proliferation Protecting people from intentional harmful effects of radiation Sustainability Resource durability: availability of natural resources or an equivalent Environmental friendliness: leaving the nature as we found it Economic viability Embarking on a new technology and ensuring its continuation

14. 14 Challenge the future Comparing the two fuel cycles The benefits of an open cycle (US, Sweden etc.) Less short-term safety concerns (no reprocessing) Less security concerns Less economic burdens (no reprocessing & one time irradiation) The benefits of a closed fuel cycle (France, Netherlands, etc.) Reduces waste life-time with a factor 20 Reduces the volume of long-lived troublesome waste Increases resource durability (reuse uranium and plutonium)

15. 15 Challenge the future Dilemmas of nuclear fuel cycles The closed fuel cycle is evidently better for posterity, but it creates various short-term concerns Reprocessing is a chemical process with waste Reprocessing creates plutonium that could be uses both a energy and weapon material (Civilian plutonium is not suitable for weapons, but is has destructive powers) How to weight short-term and long-term burdens & benefits Does intergenerational justice require us to reduce long-term burdens for future generations At what price for the present generations

16. 16 Challenge the future Relevance in policymaking This analysis could help us reflect on the desirability of certain technology in the future Similar dilemmas when opting for a nuclear reactor The safest reactor is not the most sustainable one Similar questions rise in nuclear waste disposal What level of protection should we offer for future generation? Is it legitimate to offer future generations less protection? These are the questions that should be asked up-front and not after a technology is fully developed They support investments in R&D developments

17. 17 Challenge the future Three examples Reducing long-term safety and environmental concerns It has been scientifically shown that new type of reactors can further deactivate long-lived isotopes Partitioning & Transmutation is extended closed fuel cycle How to deal with additional short-term burdens? Increasing long-tern resource durability with thorium Thorium is a lot more abundant that uranium Thorium cycle requires decades of development, for instance in the Molten Salt Reactor (other burden-benefit distribution) Reducing short-term proliferation concerns with thorium We could sue thorium to get rid of plutonium However, this will create long-lived nuclear waste

18. 18 Challenge the future Acceptability of energy technologies We must address acceptance and acceptability of technology Both technologies and institutions incorporate values That sometimes conflict Rather than being show stoppers, value conflicts could guide innovations Design for accommodating conflicting values Technologies Institutions Process: stakeholder arenas (e.g. whom and how to involve?)

19. 19 Challenge the future Societal Innovation It is important to be aware of and to include ethical and societal choices in technological innovations Recent program of NWO: Responsible Innovation TU Delft, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management received three grants The acceptability of innovations in energy technologies Smart grids Offshore wind Shale gas Incorporating societal and ethical issues in the development of technology and institutions

20. 20 Challenge the future Emotions and ethics in debates about acceptability of energy Including emotions and values in debates about energy: Morally better political decisions about risks and Better understanding between laypeople and experts