Crisis Management (CM) is crucial in promptly assisting and supporting individuals impacted by crisis. While existing guidelines aim to ensure an effective emergency response, a review of past CM efforts reveals ethical challenges, particularly in complex environments. A complex environment is characterized by intricacy, interdependence, and unpredictability, such as an oil spill in a sensitive shoreline or an ice storm affecting critical infrastructures in the Arctic. These instances are considered complex crises. Addressing ethical issues and closing gaps in ethical alignment should be an integrated part of CM. This article explores various aspects and scenarios related to CM in complex environments, aiming to identify suitable methods for incorporating ethical considerations into CM practices. It offers guidance on enhancing all facets of crisis management for optimal outcomes.
Human societies worldwide have faced a spectrum of impactful natural and man-made crises. In this context, examining the years from 2000 to 2019 reveals a total of 7,348 major recorded crises globally. These events affected a vast population of 4.2 billion people, resulting in 1.23 million fatalities and causing economic losses nearing US$2.97 trillion. The specific lens on the United States in 2023 underscores the significance of 28 confirmed weather and climate-related crises, each surpassing $1 billion in losses and leading to the unfortunate loss of 492 lives. This intricate intersection of events prompts a closer look at the broader timespan from 1980 to 2023. The annual average of such events during this period is 8.5, but the recent 5-year average (2019–2023) surged to 20.4, highlighting a concerning rise in significant weather and climate-related crises. In the Russian Federation, direct and indirect economic damage from emergencies of various kinds amounted, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, to 2% of GDP per year - from 675 to 900 billion rubles (Kamdina et al., 2021).