90 likes | 285 Views
The Global Environmental Summits. Group Discussion. Political factors that shaped the summit? Why did it take place? Main characteristics actors agendas conflicts power relations outcomes Significance (if any) for environmental cooperation and IR
E N D
Group Discussion • Political factors that shaped the summit? Why did it take place? • Main characteristics actors agendas conflicts power relations outcomes • Significance (if any) for environmental cooperation and IR • Main differences/similarities compared to the other two summits
UN Conference on the Human Environment • Stockholm 1972 • Context: Cold War • Rising environmental concern in the industrialized west • Environmental problems by product of wealth and industrialization. Suspicion by developing countries. • Narrowly defined problems of air and water pollution (example: acid rain) • 134 NGOs from industrialized countries
UN Conference on Environment and Development • Post Cold War peace • Sustainable development concept launched • Developing countries’ concerns on the agenda (sort of) • Growth in scientific understanding • 1,400 official NGO participants • National environmental bureaucracies • Agenda 21 • Biodiversity Convention • UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCC) • Global Environmental Facility • Forest Principles
World Summit on Sustainable Development • Johannesburg 2002 • Context: post 9/11, rise of unilateralism • Unprecedented participation by non-state actors. • Focus on linkages between environment and globalization (trade, finance, agriculture) • No strong leadership (maybe the EU?) • Pessimism about multilateral cooperation. Why? • Plan of implementation
Common trends • Clash of interests between developed and developing countries; • Growth in number of environmental treaties • But persistence of alarming trends (consumption, water, agriculture, poverty, population) • Some success stories (LRTAP, Montreal Protocol, Biosafety Protocol)
Johannesburg Type II Outcomes What are they? –voluntary arrangement between public and private actors to address sustainable development issues (education, agriculture, biodiversity, etc). Examples? -Amazon regional protection area (Brazil, GEF, WWF, WB) – 500, 000 sq. miles under federal protection, largest forest protection plan. -Cooperation between 15 biologically richest countries to achieve reduction of biodiversity loss.