Lecture 8: Theory of Global Environmental & Resource Policy Flashcards
(20 cards)
A global timeline on environmentalism
60s: First general enviornmental awareness (Carson Silent Spring)
70s: Oil crisis - resource depletion; Stockholm conference ‘72
80s: Local air pollution, sustainable development of late ’80s
90s: Global change, Earth Summit (‘92)
00s: Asian Expansion, Millenium Development Goals (2015)
12: Rio + 20
15: SDGs and Paris
22: Stockholm + 50
Global Dimension of Environmentalism
- Global interactive processes of environmental, economic, and socio-political change, emphasizing security with integrated global economy and geopolitical tensions and power shifts
- Global relations now inherently involve environmental, resource, economic, and political dimensions; key issues include governance (WTO, MEAs, UNEA, COPs, GFANZ), development (poverty, climate disruption, resource scarcity, SDGs), cross-border impacts (climate, water, deforestation, fisheries), and global flows (migration, tourism, trade, pandemics, invasive species).
- World consists of unequal sovereign nations with mostly voluntary, weakly enforced international cooperation; countries join environmental agreements (MEAs) only if benefits exceed costs — incentives and game theory are key.
Public Goods
- Not provided enough in competitive markets because (1) non-exclusion (i.e. once provided, hard to stop it e.g. lovely views, clean air) and (2) non-rivalry (i.e. consumption by one person doesn’t reduce availability to others e.g. the internet)
- Complex relationships b/w excludability & property rights
- Congestion could occur bringing down value
- Could be local or global public goods: Governments can provide LPGs in good quantity and quality but not GPGs
Global Public Goods (GPGs)
- Governments can provide quality and quantity of these; must be cross-border
- Incentive to free ride GPGs because of non-excludability and non-rivalry
Types of GPGs:
- Single-best effort GPGs: A situation where the GPG can be provided by a single nation state
- Weakest link GPGs: A situation where the GPG can only be provided if all nation states cooperate - failure of the weakest link could mean GPG not provided
- Aggregate effort GPGs: Providing the GPG depends on a certain minimum effort provided by a group of countries
- Mutual restraint GPGs: The GPG is provided by nation states refraining from certain behavior
- Coordination GPGs: The GPG can be provided through the coordination of nation states
Single best effort GPGs
A situation where the GPG can be provided by a single nation state
- E.g. A vaccine, preventing a meteor strike
- The benefit of the GPG to a single country is larger than the cost of its provision: B1 (benefit to largest country) > C (cost of providing GPG)
- Limitation: Where incentive in single country isn’t strong enough (e.g. U.S. did not have same incentive to develop malaria vaccine)
Weakest Link GPGs
A situation where the GPG can only be provided if all nation states cooperate - failure of the weakest link could mean GPG not provided
- E.g.: Smallpox virus eradiction
- Condition: Benefit of provision to a group of countries > cost of undertaking action in ‘weakest link’ country
- Needs huge national cost-benefit; multilateral cooperation - trust, finance
- Problems: Lack of trust, growth of conflict
Aggregate Effort GPGs
Providing the GPG depends on a certain minimum effort provided by a group of countries
- E.g. Ozone depletion from CFC: Vienna Convention ‘85; Montreal Protocl ‘87 more stringent
- Reason for success: Agreed science/damages; Fund for ‘developing countries’ and will mostly impact white-skinned countries
- BUT climate change Rio Convention ‘92 and Kyoto ‘97 barely reduced emissions because of global, complex science and long time-scale
Mutual Restraint GPGs
The GPG is provided by nation states refraining from certain behaviors
- E.g. Nuclear issue
- Incentive issues: External threat, global positioning, domestic policies, countries that have nuclear weapons make other countries want them
- Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT): 90 member states w 5 recognised nuclear powers but needs to be ratified by 44 nations
- To enter Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CBT) would need to be ratified by all 44 nuclear states
Coordination GPGs
The GPG can be provided through the coordination of nation states
- E.g.: Prime merdian/time zones; dumping at sea; lead-free petrol
- Standards as competitive strategy: access to market depends on meeting standard
Financing GPGs
- Who pays? And how to avoid free riding?
- UN is financed by members through UN Assessment proportions; ultimately voluntary payment though with no sanctions
Single-best effort: B1>B2>…Bn>C: Each country has incentive to pay but also incentive to free ride and let others pay
Aggregate best effort: B1 + B2 +…+Bn > C, but Bi<C then countries have incentive to finance GPG but only if enough of them do; Incentive to free ride again
Theory of Competitive Advantage
If countries specialize in their comparitve advantage their total output is higher and can trade so both are better off.
Reason for trading.
- However countries typically seek to protect their industry from foreign competition for good or bad reasons
General Agreement on Trade & Tariffs (GATT) and Creation of WTO:
- 47: GATT provided members should declare all tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade
- 48-94: 8 rounds of negotiations to remove NTBs as GATT grew in members, rounds got more complex
- 95: Final round cumilated in WTO
WTO
Powerful because other countries could then legally discriminate in trade against you
- WTO Appellate Panel: Now non-functional; GATT cannot be enforced
- U.S. used to like it because could appoint judges but now doesn’t so non-functional
Committee on Trade & Environment (CTE)
GATT’s group on Environmental Measures & Int’l Trade founded in ‘71 but never met and renamed CTE in Rio in ‘92
- 10 Issue Agenda: About relationship b/w trade rules and trade measures for environmental purposes
Is increased trade bad for the environment (arguments on both sides):
- Yes: Economic growth = worse ent’l impacts; trade liberalisation prevents measures to protect en’t
- No: If gov’t have measures in place, increase in growth doesn’t need to make environ’t worse. Trade can help environmentally preferable tech exchange b/w developed and developing; Trade can make people richer = more likely to care about environment
MEAs (Multilateral Environmental Agreements)
- Any agreement >2 countries; over 200 today
- MEAs with trade measures in them that discriminate against countries
- E.g. Convention on Int’l Trade in Endangered Species (CITES): 1975
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete Ozone Layer ‘87
Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) ‘93
Framework Convention on CC (‘94) and Kyoto (‘97)
Non-Discrimination Principle in trade
- Essential principle of GATT and WTO
- Most-favored nation rule: Countries must treat all WTO trader partners the same as they treat their ‘most favored’ partner
- National Treatment/Like Products: Countries must treat ‘like products’ from all WTO trade partners the same as they treat domestic ‘like products’
Key Disputes in Environment and trade Related to:
- Extra-territoriality: Countries may only protect their own environment
- Non-product process & production methods (PPMs): Countries may not dictate to other countries how to produce goods.
Border Tax Adjustments (BTAs)
A continuing trade and environment controversy
- Tax adjustments on goods from countries with lax enviornmental regulations –> do these go against GATT?
