ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ISLAMIC APPROACHES TO ADDRESSING CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE

Abstract

Environmental degradation and climate change have escalated into a global crisis that is not only ecological but also ethical, raising urgent questions about human responsibility, stewardship, and moral obligation toward the natural world. This study systematically maps environmental and climate responsibilities identified in the academic literature onto Islamic ethical principles, positioning Islamic environmental ethics as a religiously grounded framework that complements rather than replaces scientific, legal, and institutional approaches to sustainability. A PRISMA-ScR scoping review of 190 academic studies was combined with an independent thematic analysis of Qur'anic, Hadith, and Fiqh sources. Climate challenges appeared in 94.2% of papers and ethical responsibility in 88.9%, with six core responsibilities identified, stewardship, moral responsibility, accountability, climate justice, sustainable consumption, and precaution. Nineteen Islamic principles including Khilafah, Amanah, Mizan, Adl, and La Darar closely mirrored these responsibilities. Three conceptual indices ranked environmental challenges by urgency and Islamic mitigation potential, identifying climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and pollution as priority areas where Islamic ethics can reinforce technical and institutional action, offering practical relevance for governance, education, and community practice in Muslim-majority contexts. Research concluded that strengthening environmental responsibility and promoting more sustainable and morally sound solutions to current climate and environmental issues can be achieved by fusing Islamic ethical concepts with scientific, legal, and institutional approaches.