CH. 24

1. CH. 24 Lessons 5 and 6

2. Concept 24-5 • Environmental security is necessary for economic security and is at least as important as military security.

3. Environmental Security is as Important… • Economy is highly supported by the natural capital. • If the environmental foundations of a nation are declined, the economy will also decline. • Growing scarcities lead to dysfunction in government and civil violence. • Studied by Thomas Homer-Dixon Sudan, Africa had a government fall in 2007 due to drought and rapid population growth. It headed the list of failing states. Analysts suggest that all countries should make environmental security a major focus of diplomacy. This involves taking into consideration the harmful impacts of wars.

4. Developing Stronger Environmental POlicies • The United Nations houses a large family of organizations. • Ex: U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO), the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), and the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). • The organizations: • Expand understanding of environmental issues. • Gather and evaluate environmental data. • Develop and monitor international environmental treaties. • Provide grants and loans for sustainable economic development and reducing poverty. • Help more than 100 nations develop environmental laws and institutions. • These organizations have helped countries like China to develop energy efficiency campaigns.

5. Developing Stronger Environmental policies cont. • 178 nations met at the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janiero, Brazil in 1992. • The major policy outcome was Agenda 21: a global agenda for sustainable development in the 21st century. Goals addressed the world’s social, economic, and environmental problems. • There are more than 500 international environmental treaties and agreements known as multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). • To date, the most successful example of how the global community can work together is the Montreal & Copenhagen protocols for protecting the ozone layer. • In 2004 & 2008, Gus Speth argued that the problems were getting worse and that the efforts to solve them are inadequate. • So far, the countries with the best economic sustainability are: • 2008: Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Costa Rica, Austria, New Zealand, Latvia, Colombia, and France • 2014: Switzerland, Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore, Czech Republican, Germany, Spain, Austria, Sweden, and Norway.

7. Corporations Can play key role in moving toward environmental sustainability • Governments and corporations must work together to be able to achieve higher enivronmental sustainability. • Through legislations, government can set more environmental standards and goals. • Many CEO’s and investors are starting to realize that money can be made from developing and selling green products and services. • Eco-efficiency: finding ways to create more economic value with less environmental impact by reducing amounts of energy, water, chemicals, and others. • Stephan Schmidheiny created the World Business Counsil for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) which is dedicated to promoting sustainable development built around improving eco-efficiency.

8. International environmental treaties

9. Concept 24.6 • Making the transition to more sustainable societies will require that nations implement green plans and that people in nations cooperate, agree on principles, and make the political commitment to achieve this transition.

10. Green planning can be a national priority • Countries such as New Zealand, Sweden, and the Netherlands are participating in green planning • Green planning: the creation of long-term environmental management strategies with the ultimate goal of achieving greater environmental and economic sustainability and a high quality of life for a country’s citizens. • Netherlands began to focus on the eight major areas of improvement: climate change, acid deposition, eutrophication, toxic chemicals, waste disposal, groundwater depletion, unsustainable use of renewable and non-renewble resources, and local nuisances. (1989) • First country to attempt to solve the environmental sustainability issue & encourage innovative solutions • Groups were assigned to each area to make policies to improve their area. • Government identified four general themes for each group: • First: implement life-cycle management (make companies responsible for the remains of their products) • Second: improve energy efficiency with grants ($385 million per year) • Third: invent more environmentally sustainable technologies or improve. • Fourth: Improve public awareness through public education programs.

11. We can shift to more environmentally sustainable societies • A study reveals that the biosphere and the culture sphere are economically and politically interdependent, which requires everyone to work together to find solutions for problems. • Guidelines suggestted: • First: emphasize preventing or minimizing environmental problems instead of letting them build up. • Second: use well-designed marketplace solutions to help prevent or reduce impacts. • Third: cooperate to find win-win solutions or trade-offs to problems. • Fourth: be honest and objective; don’t be greedy and take advantage of the problems.

12. We can shift to more environmentally sustainable societies • Some governments have started shifting from income taxes to pollution and carbon emissions. • In the US, many states have enacted their own laws and programs to improve energy efficiency. • The transition to a more environmentally sustainable will restore hope and avoid the degradation of the national capital for the generations to come.