Justice and Change in the Global World

This essay explores the principle of common good and its relation to climate change. It discusses the role of finance and accounting in reducing the impact of climate change on human health. The essay also addresses local and global issues and challenges related to climate change and suggests ways to address them.

Justice and Change in the Global World
Essay

Task- 2
Answer
The principle of common good refers to those social factors and surroundings, which allow a
group or as individuals to reach their fulfilment more easily and in sufficient manner. The
common good does not belong in the simple sum of the specific goods of each subject of a social
object (Etzioni, 2014). Actually, belongings to each person on the earth inequality make it
common because it is indivisible and common for all. Another characteristic is that it needs a
collective approach from people to enhance it and increase its resources, and safeguard its
effectiveness in consideration with the future use and advantages (Bellard, et.al. 2012). However,
climate change is becoming a widely accepted business issue and it is very difficult to measure
the impact of climate change on human health in the accounting profession.
Climate change is a major global problem that affects human lives, especially the lives of poor
and vulnerable people. Change in climate threatening the progress of people made in reducing
poverty. If people fail to identify and address real problems related to climate change will have
serious insinuations for our society, community, human lives, human rights global economy, and
for the environment as well (Swim, et. al., 2011). Management accounting is one of the best way
to measure the risk imposed by climate changes because it has some techniques to support long
term strategic decision that helps in reducing and assessing the risk. Although according to a
survey of McKinsey 80% of people thinks that finance and accounting profession has a key role
to play here.
The way different countries and people of those countries live and continue working for their
developments is causing a huge amount of degradation and destruction of natural resources such
as water, air, land etc. through various anti-environmental activities such as pollution (Larson,
2011). At the same time, people are living in the scarcity of resources and there is increasing
disparity and overconsumption of our natural resources. It is the reality that humans cannot
develop and progress if they failed to identify the connection between human lives and nature
because it is nature, which allows us to develop and progress in our real world (United Nations
Climate change, 2017). If we consider industries and professional people then we can found that

large number of people thinks that climate change is not a main agenda in their organisations.
While only few people in finance and accounting profession thinks that Climate change is a
central problem, and it can be reduced with the help of accounting and finance profession. That
supposed level of significance makes an enormous difference and citing sustainability as a
strategic goal also overwhelms some of the financial return questions on climate change
management.
Local issues and challenges and how it can be addressed
Society is the major beneficiary of natural resources and also most responsible for the destruction
of forest and our eco-system. Our community should work on taking immediate necessary steps
for using sustainable and clean energy that not helps the environment to make a balance with the
environment. If our society continuously consumes natural resources and polluted air through
emission of greenhouse gases such as CFC gas, CO2 gas etc. then our next generations
experience the serious environmental consequences that arise because of heavy fossil fuel
consumption. The problem is not only limited to our next or next to next generations rather the
matter is whether the civilization as we know can be extended to beyond the next 100 years or
not (Kahan, et. al., 2012). Another major issue arises because of climate change and excessive
use of fossil-fuel consumption is ‘inter-generational equity’. One of the major problems
associated with our society is the increasing populations. With the increasing population of the
world, the needs of resources are also increasing and its breaches the principle of the common
good. People forget about the concept of equality and more focused on their own needs and
requirements. This leads to the mass destruction of natural resources such as water and air
pollution. This creates another challenge for our environment and results in climate changes that
further not only affect human health but also affect the lives of other species and creature along
with humans.
Finance and Accounting can play an important role in reducing the impact of climate change on
human being. Accounting and finance can help in reducing the cost of energy price and improve
the energy efficiency (Morris, Henneberger, Huber, and Moissl-Eichinger, 2013). The role of
human being is also important in improving the energy efficiency because this can only be
possible if they understand the moral learning and wellness and aware how they can implement
the accounting principles to reduce the impact of climate change in their life. The soul of the

common good is lying in the equality of sharing resources for the wellbeing of people, this helps
in reducing the use of energy efficiency. De-forestation is another problem that should be
encountered by the government and for this problem government can make strict laws and
implement an accounting system that prevent people and organisation to access use of our
natural resources. To protect our environment and stop the adverse effect of climate change,
people and government should work together and use the accounting principles and tools.
Global Issues and Challenges and how it can be addressed
Climate change and its impact is a global problem and it should be raise on global platform.
Through using core analytical skills and Risk management skills, accountants can help the world
to implement the strategic and practical approach to reduce the impact of climate change on
human health (Schneider, Kallis, and Martinez-Alier, 2010). Global economics itself is a major
driver for applying accounting to climate change. Actually, most of the poor countries do not
have the proper accounting technological system to measure the impacts of climate change. Most
of the natural disasters mostly affect the poor people and they suffered mostly with these
disasters, because the government fail to measure the impact of climate change and its disastrous
effect on thee people.
It has been seen that the most of the pollution emission come from the developed countries.
Although China and USA are two big countries and these two are more responsible for global
climate change and pollution. Thus, these countries must consider appropriate techniques to
reduce the carbon emission. In the case of global climate change, people of the world should take
initiatives to protect others people rights and their lives as well. To reduce the impact of climate
change on human health it is necessary that major accounting regulatory bodies of the developed
countries like USA, China, India, and Russia initiate with a suitable accounting and management
plan to measure the impact and then try to reduce it with proper environmental management
system. The plan of these countries formulated in such a way that should not affect the progress
of poor countries and motivates other rich countries to minimise the emission of poisonous gases
that affect our atmosphere and environment (Vainio and Paloniemi, 2013). A global step against
the emission of greenhouse gases may reduce the negative effect of climate change on human
health. It is possible only when the accountants of organisations, government, and world together

use the best accounting skills and management skills to measure the impact of climate change
and then take appropriate action to reduce it.

References
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