Ethics for Environmental Policy reviews recent work in the field of environmental ethics. The text examines ways in which ethical frames of reference and decision principles are invoked in policy debates related to environmental protection, and how the integration of thought regarding conduct ethics and virtue ethics is essential for application of theory to practice.

The third edition opens with two new chapters. The first presents an overview of ethical theory with emphasis on the role of ethical analysis and critique in framing debate on contemporary environmental problems. The second addresses issues at the forefront of this debate with emphasis on views and institutional responses to climate change, biodiversity loss, and the volume of pollutants and hazardous waste generated in industrial society.

The book explores how the relationship between humans and the natural world has been conceived in various cultural traditions throughout history, followed by an examination of an attitudinal orientation toward nature grounded in respect, humility, gratitude, and responsibility. Positions on the moral status of non-human biotic entities are presented from several theoretical perspectives. The final chapters address issues related to the preservation, protection, and sustainable use of resources and the respective roles played by markets, government, and activist non-governmental organizations.