Transcript Climate Change: Why the Old Approaches Aren*t Working

Climate Change: Why the Old
Approaches Aren’t Working
How Bad?
• Some people are “freaking out” while others
are in complete denial or apathetic
• Is climate change a global problem or not?
• Who can afford to worry about it, or more
importantly, do something about it?
• Who caused the problem in the first place?
Social
Social
Env
Environm
ental
Economic
Economic
• Stockholm
• Economic system
supported affluent
lifestyles of the North
• SD – multilateral
agreements and
treaties b/w NS
• SD- integrating Env’al
issues with global social
and economic issues.
• Address deteriorating
human and social
environment and the
consequences for
economic and social
development
• Our Common Future
(1987)
• "Sustainable development
is development that meets
the needs of the present
without compromising the
ability of future
generations to meet their
own needs."
UN Conference of
Environment &
Development
• Rio/Earth Summit
• Agenda 21
• Both Conferences were
negotiated by
government delegates
w scientific and
environmental
community
DISCOURSE
2002
World Commission
on Environment and
Development
1992
UN Conference in
the Human
Environment
1983
1972
The Sustainable Development Timeline: From Three Legs to One
World Summit on
Sustainable
Development
• Johannesburg, SA
• ED central notion of SD
• “Rio minus 10”
• Economic analysts over
scientific experts,
markets over NS
treaties
• SD= marriage b/w
environmentalism &
consumerism
The Core Message and the Importance
of Sociology
• We cannot deal with the environmental issues
without addressing inequity.
• Technocratic solutions simply moved or
shifted around environmental pollution
• NIMBY-PIBBY-PICBY
Inequality and Why it Matters for
Addressing Climate Change
• Effects unequally distributed
• Responsibility for the problem is even more
unequally distributed
• Vast differences in absolute and relative
income
• Capacity
• Growing inequality in the South
Inequality and Why it Matters for
Addressing Climate Change
• Why does inequality matter so much for
resolving climate change?
• Inequality within and between nations, of
many sorts, drives desperation in the Global
South (vulnerability), anger at the injustice of
the distribution of goods (wealth) and bads
(emissions), as well as inability and
unwillingness to participate effectively in
international efforts to address climate change
(participation in Kyoto and other
environmental treaties).
Breaking the Deadlock: Expanding the
Terrain
• We cannot deal with environmental issues
without addressing inequality
• Ready stock of “fairness principles.”
– Procedural Justice
– Compensatory Justice