International Cooperation Flashcards
examine the factors that make international cooperation on the environment between developed and developing states hard to achieve
both types of state possess state sovereignty
disputes between developed and developing states about how far they are responsible or should take action over environmental issues
the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ is highly contentious and has prevented international cooperation
both types of state possess state sovereignty
one factor that makes international cooperation on the environment between developed and developing states hard to achieve is that both types of state possess state sovereignty
on most issues, such as health care, education, law and order and immigration, states enjoy sovereignty and have the ultimate authority to decide policy in these areas
however, the environment is not confined within state borders – pollution, rising sea levels and greenhouse gas emissions cannot be solved by unilateral action, they require the collective action of many states, if not all
collective action requires collective decision making and collective implementation, which in turn leads to the creation of international organisations and regimes to aid this process
inevitably, this leads to a loss of sovereignty as decisions are made more easily by a majority rather than on the basis of unanimity and there will be times when individual states lose out in the interests of the majority, having to accept the majority decision despite disagreeing
however, many developed and developing states have been unwilling to abandon state sovereignty on such matters which has undermined attempts to create organisations for international cooperation on the environment
disputes between developed and developing states about how far they are responsible or should take action over environmental issues
furthermore, there are disputes between developed and developing states about how far they are responsible or should take action over environmental issues
the disagreements over responsibility for climate change provide another significant obstacle to international co-operation on the environment
scientific evidence suggests that global warming is caused by greenhouse gases, which are the by-products of burning fossil fuels
the consumption of fossil fuels began in the late-18th century with the Industrial Revolution
countries industrialised at different rates and some countries in the developing world are still industrialising, but the developed states were the earliest to industrialise, and they have therefore produced a greater share of greenhouse gases
for example, in the 1990s, the USA produced about 25% of the world’s total carbon-dioxide emissions, compared to China’s 14%, despite the fact that the American population accounted for less than 5% of the total world population while China’s accounted for 20%
developed states are also responsible for much of the emissions in the developing world
due to globalisation, around one-third of carbon dioxide emissions in the developing world come from the manufacturing of goods that are consumed in the developed world
therefore, it would seem right that developed states should bear greater responsibility for the reduction in carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide levels, especially when they have had longer to enjoy the benefits of industrialisation
this has been used as an argument by developing states to suggest that developed states are more responsible for climate change and should, therefore, take more action themselves, which has prevented international cooperation on the environment because many developing states have refused to cooperate unless the developed states take more responsibility
for example, in the 1990s, China argued that it should not accept emissions targets because, as a developing country, it was not responsible for the damage done by other countries industrialising earlier
the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ is highly contentious and has prevented international cooperation
similarly, the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ – which places the responsibility on developed states to commit to greater reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions and to provide financial support to developing states to help them achieve reductions – is highly contentious and has prevented international cooperation
developed states argue that they cannot be held responsible for pollution produced in the past, when no one knew this would cause global warming
they argue that reduction targets should be set according to current rather than historical levels of emissions
for instance, the US may produce four times more greenhouse gas emissions per capita than China, but overall China is now producing the highest levels of emissions: 29% to America’s 16%
successive US administrations have disputed the fairness of targets based on per-capita measures, claiming that targeting the highest polluters would do more to combat climate change
this is yet another area of disagreement between developed and developing states that has made international cooperation on the environment hard to achieve, as seen in how the US initially agreed to binding targets at Kyoto in 1997, but revoked its signature, arguing that China had become the greatest net emissions producer, so it was unfair to expect the USA to make reductions when other countries were causing more damage to the environment
