Unit 4: Environmemt

Question 1

In what sense has the environment become a global issue?

Answer 1

Some environmental problems are inherently global - CO2 emissions contribute to global climate change

Some problems relate to the exploitation of the global commons - resources shared by all members of the international community, such as the oceans, deep-sea bed, atmosphere, and outer space

Many environmental problems are intrinsically transnational, in that by their nature they cross state boundaries

Many process of over-exploitation or environmental degradation in such a large number of localities around the world that they can be considered global problems

Process leading to over-exploitation and environmental degradation are intimately linked to border political and social-economic processes, which themselves are part of a global political economy

Question 2

What are the three environmental problems:

Answer 2

Resource problems

Sink problems

Ethical problems

Question 3

What are ‘resource problems’?

Answer 3

Attempts to conserve natural material through reducing the use of non-renewable resources, such as coal, oil, natural gasses and so on.

Instead increasing the use of renewable resources such as wind, wave and tidal powers, and reducing population growth, thereby curtailing resource consumption

Question 4

Examples of ‘resource problems’:

Answer 4

Energy depletion: of the various natural resources required by states, energy resources (fuel) are central. Fossil fuels account for 95% of world energy consumption

Population growth: world population, 6.8 billion in March 2010, is growing by 75 million each year - 200,000 additional people per day. Of the increase in population, 96% will be in the global South, putting pressure on resources

Shrinking rain forests: as many as one half of the worlds total species live in rain forests which replenish oxygen and reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - slowing down global warming. International bargaining on the preservation of rain forests has made considerable progress, probably because most rain forests belong to a few states

Question 5

What are ‘sink problems’?

Answer 5

Attempts to reduce the damage done by the waste products of economic activity.

For example, reducing pollution levels, increasing recycling and developing greener, less polluting technologies

Question 6

Examples of ‘sink problems’:

Answer 6

Air and Water Pollution: effects of pollution are often more tangible than global warming or the whole in the ozone layer. Several regional agreements seek to limit acid rain, caused by air pollution. Acid air often crosses borders. Water pollution often crosses borders as well, especially because industrial pollution, human sewage, and agricultural fertilisers and pesticides all tend to run into rivers and seas.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions: 80% of greenhouse gases now come from the industrialised countries (25% from the US alone). Yet the most severe impacts of global warming are likely to be felt in the global South

Question 7

What are ‘ethical problems’?

Answer 7

Refer to attempts to restore the balance between humankind and nature through wildlife and wilderness conservation, respect for other species (animal rights and animal welfare) and changed agricultural practices (organic farming).

Question 8

Define ‘ecologism’:

Answer 8

Ecologism is the idea of an intrinsic relationship between humankind and nature (or non-human nature, to avoid confusion with the notion of ‘human nature’.

Question 9

Three responses to preventing the over-exploitation of the Commons:

Answer 9

Exploit and move on - environment cannot recover, or is given insufficient time and space in which to do so, and there are fewer places to move on to

Privatisation - change in property rights, arguing ownership of the common land should be divided individually

Norms rules and Regulations: establish system of norms, rules, regulations or taxes to tackle environmental problems

Question 10

Why hasn’t the international community been able to respond to environmental issues effectively?

Answer 10

Absence of World Government - no world government with the power or authority to impose rules on the use of the global commons

Understanding is still contested - between realists and idealists

Question 11

What is ‘Market Ecologism’ or ‘Green Capitalism’?

Answer 11

Involves attempts to adjust to markets to take account of the damage done to the environment, making externalities internal to the business or organisations that are responsible for them.

Examples include green taxes

Question 12

What are human ingenuity and the development of green technologies such as drought resistant crops, energy-efficient forms of transport and ‘clean’ coal?

Answer 12

The capacity for intervention and innovation that created industrial civilisation in the first place can also be used to generate an environmentally friendly version of industrialisation

Question 13

Reformist Ecologists tend to advocate three main solutions to environmental degradation:

Answer 13

‘Market Ecologism’ or ‘Green Capitalism’

Human ingenuity and the development of green technologies such as drought resistant crops, energy-efficient forms of transport and ‘clean’ coal

International regimes and systems of transnational regulation

Question 14

What are international regimes and systems of transnational regulation?

Answer 14

Global governance offers the prospect that the impact of the ‘tragedy of the commons’ can be reduced even though it can never be removed

Question 15

Two key concepts of sustainable development:

Answer 15

Concept of need, in particular the essential needs of the worlds poor, to which overriding priority should be given

Concept of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organisation on the environments ability to meet present and future needs

Question 16

What is ‘weak sustainability’:

Answer 16

Accepts that economic growth is desirable but simply recognises that growth must be limited to ensure that ecological costs do not threaten its long term sustainability

This means, in effect, getting richer slower

Question 17

What is ‘strong sustainability’?

Answer 17

Favoured by radical ecologists

Rejects the pro-growth implications of weak sustainability

Focused just on the need to preserve and sustain natural capital, seeing human capital as little more than a blight on nature

Question 18

What is ‘global warming’?

Answer 18

Global climate change, or global warming, is a slow, long term rise in the average world temperature

Growing and compelling evidence shows that global warming is a real problem,that is caused by the emission of carbon dioxide and other gasses, and that it will get much worse in the coming decades

Question 19

Global warming thus presents states with a triple dilemma:

Answer 19

Dilemma of short term (and predictable) costs to gain long-term (and less predictable) benefits

Specific constituencies such as oil companies and industrial workers pay the costs, whereas the benefits are distributed more generally across domestic society and internationally

Collective goods dilemma among states: benefits are shared globally but costs must be extracted from each state individually

Question 20

Reformist Ecological proposals for responding to climate change:

Answer 20

Modest Greenhouse Gas Emission Targets

Allowing for Economic Growth (‘Green Capitalism’)

‘Green Technology’ to create a carbon-neutral economy

Green market solutions (emissions trading, ‘green taxes’, ‘green consumerism’

Question 21

Radical Ecological proposals for responding to climate change:

Answer 21

Substantial Greenhouse Gas Emission Targets

Rejection of ‘industrialism’ - significant restructuring of the economy

Tackling materialism and consumerism (‘steady state economy’)

Anti-globalisation - the formation of a ‘pre-industrial’ society focussed around the ‘ecological south’ and self sufficient communities

Question 22

What are ‘Free riders’?

Answer 22

“Free Riders” are those who consume more than their fair share of a public resource, or shoulder less than a fair share of the costs of its production.

In the case of the environmental concerns this means actors who contribute to pollution but do not pay the price of cleaning it up

Question 23

Why does the ‘free rider’ problem make it difficult to deal with global environmental issues?

Answer 23

Environmental negotiations often rely on reciprocity (mutual commitments) as the prime mover of agreement

For significant progress to be made all countries have to participate

Main problem with environmental negotiations is that when a major problem is solved the participants get a short-term bill to pay, in return for long term benefits which may not be instantly tangible

The Kyoto Protocol was a good example of the problems associated with ‘free-riding’ as the largest polluter (the US) did not participate and the second largest participant (China) got a free-ride because its own development was being subsided and offset by others. Result = failure to substantially slow the emissions of carbon dioxide

Question 24

What is meant by the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’?

Answer 24

Garrett Hardin developed the theory of the ‘tragedy of the commons’ to explain why the overexploitation of environmental resources has occurred.

Question 25

What does the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ demonstrate?

Answer 25

Demonstrated the environmental vulnerability that arises from people having open access to collective resources.

Common land or common fishery stocks encourage individuals to act in rationally self-interested ways, each exploiting the resources available to satisfy their needs and the needs of their families and communities

Collective impact of such behaviour may be devastating, as the vital resources on which all depend become depleted or despoiled

Question 26

Theory - Liberals solution to the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’:

Answer 26

Liberals argue that the solution is, in effect, to abolish the commons by extending property rights, allowing the discipline of the market to control resource usage.

Question 27

Theory - Socialists and Anarchists view of the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’:

Answer 27

Reject the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ altogether

Question 28

Theory - Eco socialists view of the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’:

Answer 28

Argue that selfishness, greed and the wanton use of resources are a consequence of the system of private ownership, not their cause

Community ownership, by contrast, engenders respect for the natural environment

Question 29

Solutions for the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’:

Answer 29

‘Exploit and Move On’

‘Privatisation’

Norms, Rules and Regulations

Question 30

What is ‘Exploit and Move On’?

Answer 30

Approach taken by ‘slash and burn’ agricultural communities in the tropical forests. Increasingly, however, this is no longer an option. The environment cannot recover or is given insufficient time and space in which to do so and there are fewer places to move on to

Question 31

What is ‘Privatisation’?

Answer 31

Argument that if ownership of the common grazing land were divided amongst the herd-keepers, each of these would have a direct interest in maintaining the value of their own land by grazing it at sustainable levels.

In principle the privatisation approach could play a significant role in improving resource management of the global commons

Question 32

What are ‘Norms, Rules and Regulations’?

Answer 32

Establishing a system of norms, rules, regulations or taxes to tackle environmental problems

State regulation and control is a potential effective approach to managing local or national resources

Question 33

What is the ‘Precautionary Principle’?

Answer 33

States that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those taking the action or its proponents

Question 34

What are the implications for the precautionary principle for tackling climate change?

Answer 34

One of the primary foundations in terms of the application of the precautionary principle in this area was the Rio Conference in 1992, which endorsed this approach

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN sponsored body set up in 1988 to review the risks of human activity producing climate change, has concluded, that global warming is definitely occurring, that it is almost certainly caused by human activity and that rising sea levels, droughts and other seriously damaging effects are to be expected - represents the overwhelming consensus of the global scientific community

While this doesn’t represent ‘full scientific certainty’ as climate change sceptics continue to address, the evidence is sufficiently compelling for action under the precautionary principle to be urgently needed

This has been recognised by the international community in a series of UN sponsored conferences - for instance the 2009 Copenhagen Accord included a pledge to prevent global temperature rises in the future of more than 2C above pre-industrial levels

Question 35

What is meant by ‘global warming’?

Answer 35

Global Warming is a slow, long term rise in the average world temperature.

Question 36

What impact could ‘global warming’ have?

Answer 36

Within a few decades the polar ice caps will begin to melt and cause the sea level to rise by as much as a few feet - such a rise could flood many coastal cities and devastate low lying areas such as Bangladesh

Alter weather patterns in regions, causing droughts, floods, freezes and widespread disruption of natural ecosystems

Climate change may benefit some regions - the melting of the polar ice caps may open new shipping routes north of Canada and Russia that could potentially cut weeks of transit time for Northern Europe or America to Asia

Artic seas, thought to hold large deposits of oil and gas, would become commercially accessible if the ice melts

Question 37

Global warming presents states with a triple dilemma:

Answer 37

1) there is the dilemma of short term and predictable costs to gain long-term and less predictable benefits
2) specific constituencies such as oil companies and industrial workers pay the costs, whereas the benefits are distributed more generally across domestic society and internationally
3) there is the collective goods dilemma among states: benefits are shared globally but costs must be extracted from each state individually

Question 38

What is ‘sustainable development’?

Answer 38

The idea of ‘sustainable development’ was highlighted by the 1987 Brundtland Report as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.

Sustainable development therefore entails both the concept of need whilst recognising the environments limited potential for meeting present and future needs

Question 39

What are the implications of ‘sustainable development’:

Answer 39

‘Weak’ sustainability accepts that economic growth is desirable but simply recognises that growth must be limited to ensure that ecological costs do not threaten its long term sustainability - this means, in effect, getting richer slower and could be more consistent with a form of ‘green capitalism’. This view essentially places great faith in technological progress to allow people to manipulate the earth in order to meet their demands

‘Strong’ sustainability, favoured by radical ecologists, rejects the pro-growth implications of weak sustainability. Strong sustainability advocates argue, that we need a more small scale decentralised way of life based upon greater self-reliance

Question 40

What are ‘Environmental issues’?

Answer 40

Environmental issues could include a range of aspects such as acid rain or the exhaustion of fish stocks, but in recent years international attention has particularly focussed on climate change resulting from the emission of greenhouse gasses

Question 41

Why do environmental issues create tension between the developed and the developing worlds?

Answer 41

Historically the main emitters of greenhouse gasses have been the developed countries yet the worst effects of climate change are likely to be felt in the developing world. This leads to anger among developing countries at the failure of the richer nations like the US to take effective action, as well as demands for compensation for the effects of climate change

Though developing countries have a strong interest in international action on climate change, they see it as unjust that their own emissions should be limited. They therefore argue that it is unjust to cap their emissions at a level that threatens their ability to raise the living standards of their populations to levels enjoyed by rich countries that caused the problem in the first place

These arguments have been a major obstacle to progress because they have been used by developing countries to resist binding curbs on their emissions. For instance, developing countries refused to accept binding limits for emissions under the Kyoto Protocol

On the other hand, this has provided the USA, until overtaken by China the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, with an excuse for not taking action on the basis that it would give an advantage to their rival China if their economy was handicapped by raising the price of energy

Question 42

Why is achieving concerted global action on climate change complicated?

Answer 42

Achieving concerted global action on climate change is complicated since the tradition within International Relations is state-centric, centred around concepts of state sovereignty and the belief that states pursue their national interest

Global environmental problems tend not to be caused by deliberate acts of national policy, but instead are the unintended side-effects of broader socio-economic processes

Non-state actors such as firms are at least as important as states in that their activities will lead to environmental damage

States do legislature within their territories and so should play a central role in developing and enforcing environmental solutions

Question 43

Define: ‘Tragedy of the Commons’

Answer 43

The ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ can be defined as the overexploitation of the global collective resources such as oceans, air and pollution and is one of the major reasons restricting international cooperation on climate change

Question 44

To what extent has it proved difficult to achieve effective international cooperation in tackling climate change?

Answer 44

“Free Rider” problem - notion that some countries do not contribute to the solution but reap the rewards of any progress

States are reluctant to limit themselves fearing economic repercussions and the calmative action of this is a failure of cooperation. An example of state egoism can be seen in the deforestation of the Amazon in Brazil

Governments are hardwired to offer continued economic growth to their electorates. In order to combat climate change, governments often have to make sacrifices either by cutting industry or investing tax payers’ money into green technology which may not be popular to electorates

Industrialism has become an integral part of our culture. Tackling climate change would involve reducing economic growth and as big businesses have huge influence on government this would make change difficult

Insufficient pressure from below - there is a barrier between the politicians and the ‘grass roots’ of global society, especially in the developing world where they may lack understanding of the complex issue of climate change

Tensions between developed and developing countries

Lack of legally binding targets

Question 45

Arguments only radical action can tackle the problem of climate change:

Answer 45

Dangerous Delays - wide and growing gap between the recognition of the problem of global warming and the introduction of effective international action

Myth of ‘easy’ solutions - the strategies that are the least economically and politically problematic are also the least effective

Economic Restructuring - need for a radical restructuring of capitalism, in particular through the strengthening of state intervention to impose sustainable practices

Post-material society - only if values and sensibilities alter will policy-makers at national and international levels have the political space to develop meaningful solutions to the problem

Question 46

Arguments that radical action is not the only means of tackling the problem of climate change:

Answer 46

Exaggerated fears - concern about climate change has been driven by a kind of environmental hysteria

Adapt to change - most environmentalists view global warming simply as something that must be stopped, based on the assumption that all of its impacts are negative

Market Solutions - capitalism is resolutely not anti-green

Human Ingenuity - the capacity for innovation and creativity that lay behind carbon industrialisation can surely be harnessed to build carbon-neutral businesses, industries and societies

Question 47

Radical ecologists arguments regarding climate change:

Answer 47

Radical ecologists argue that the wide and growing gap between the recognition of the problem of global warming and the introduction of effective international action has created a particularly dangerous situation

Radical ecologists argue that the strategies that are the least economically and politically problematic are also the least effective in delivering these emission cuts

Argument for tackling climate change through radical means states that the problem cannot be addressed without changes being introduced to the economic system that has caused it

Question 48

Reformist ecologists arguments regarding climate change:

Answer 48

Argue that concern about climate change has been driven by a kind of environmental hysteria

Sought to argue the case for adaption rather than mitigation strategies in tackling climate change

Whilst radical ecologists reject capitalism and the ideology of industrialism which accompanies it reformist ecologists argue that a ‘Capitalism 2.0’ may well be part of the solution

Question 49

Tragedy of the Commons:

Answer 49

Overexploitation environmental resources

Question 50

Free rider problem:

Answer 50

Those who consume more than their fair share of public resource, or shoulder less than a fair share of the costs

Question 51

Reformist ecology: green capitalism

Answer 51

The capitalist ideas of profit being applied to environmentalism

E.g. Ecotricity make a profit by basing their energy business around customers paying a premium for ‘green’ energy

Question 52

Reformist ecology: sustainable development

Answer 52

Growth that is possible to continue without causing economic problems + economic growth that is possible to sustain without causing environmental problems

Question 53

Radical ecology: Anti-growth

Answer 53

Opposed to the principle of economic growth

Belief that the idea of growth is inherently negative thing and will always lead to destruction

Question 54

Radical ecology: Anti-industrialism

Answer 54

Idea that ‘big business’ capitalism will always lead to environmental damage - they will always b driven by profit

E.g. VW emissions scandal

Question 55

International Conferences on climate change: Kyoto (1997)

Answer 55

Set binding targets for developed states to limit or reduce their greenhouse gases emissions by 2012 - commitment implied a 5% reduction

USA signed the treaty (Clinton) but failed to ratify it (Bush)

Question 56

International Conferences on climate change: Copenhagen (2009)

Answer 56

China and other emerging economies committed themselves to the goal of cutting emission levels

Didn’t create any legally binding obligations on any country to cut its emissions, nor did it contain any commitment for the future

Question 57

International Conferences on Climate Change: Paris (2015)

Answer 57

Deal united all world nations in a single agreement on tackling climate change for the first time in history

Agreement not binding on members until 55% of worlds greenhouse gases ratify agreement

Question 58

Obstacles to effective cooperation on climate change:

Answer 58

Tragedy of the Commons + Free Rider Problem

Governments are ‘hardwired’ to offer continued economic growth to their electorates

There has been insufficient pressure from below

Tension between developed + developing countries

Question 59

Reformist solutions to climate change:

Answer 59

Modest Greenhouse Gas Emission Targets

Allowing for Economic Growth (Green Capitalism)

Green technology to create a carbon neutral economy

Green market solutions

Question 60

Radical solutions to climate change:

Answer 60

Substantial Greenhouse Gas Emission Targets

Rejection of ‘industrialism’

Tackling materialism + consumerism (steady state economy)

Anti-globalisation - formation of pre-industrial society