Final answer:
Global ethics is important according to Professor Heather Widdows because it helps to bridge the gap between human and non-human considerations, facilitates debates across cultures on ecoethical issues, and prepares individuals to be global citizens addressing worldwide problems.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Professor Heather Widdows, global ethics is important because it provides an ethical framework that allows us to consider our obligations to the non-human world alongside those to fellow human beings. This is critical in resolving controversial conservation settings and recognizing the rights and moral consideration of all beings. Global ethics engages in dialogue across diverse cultures, aiming to reach a broad consensus on ecoethical issues and advance the ethical discussion beyond stasis.
With the dominance of large-scale institutions influencing global civilization, it is imperative to address power relations and actively discuss global ethical matters such as conservation, human population growth, and rapid climate change. Moreover, understanding global ethics can prepare individuals to be global citizens, capable of addressing and solving worldwide problems like climate change, social justice, and human rights, by linking local actions to a global context.