Transcript Assessing Green Diplomacy

Assessing Green
Diplomacy
POL S 422
1
Success & failure in green
diplomacy
Toxic Waste Trade
 Whaling
 Acid Rain
 CITES
 Ozone Depletion
 Climate Change

POL S 422
2
Lessons Learned








Lead states/laggard states
Importance of nonstate actors
Importance of organizational structure
Importance of symbolic politics
Least common denominator
Strengths of convention/protocol
– Allows incremental progress
– Works well for simple issues
Weaknesses of convention/protocol
– Works less well for complex issues
Role of U.S.
POL S 422
3
Institutional Problems



Weakness of UNEP
– Physical & political isolation
– Under-funded
Dominant economic institutions downplay
environment
– WTO, World Bank, IMF
– Business
A World Environment Organization?
POL S 422
4
Three Alternative Futures




Business-as-usual
– Liberal environmentalism
Fortress World
– Rich protect themselves
– Securitizing energy
Global Transformation
– Addresses the intertwined dimensions of the
global problematique
 Inequity, violent conflict, environmental
degradation
Evidence for all three
POL S 422
5
Liberal environmentalism




Business-as-usual
Proliferation of agreements & institutions
– Hundreds of treaties since Stockholm,
yet environmental conditions worsen
Green diplomacy embedded in ideology of
growth
Voluntary initiatives emphasized over
binding commitments
POL S 422
6
Capitalism, Globalization and
Ecology



Market logic
– Economic efficiency: cheap labor &
materials
– Market expansion: growth imperative
– Profit motive: short time horizon
 Ex: Banking industry & renewable energy
Pro-free trade argument
– Trade increases GNP; wealth promotes
environment
Anti-free trade argument
– Shadow ecologies; race to the bottom; time
frame
POL S 422
7
Darker Green: A Global
Green Deal




Based upon “common but differentiated
responsibility”
North would supply funds & technology to
enable South to leapfrog into sustainable
development
EX: Per capita emissions approach to
GHGs
What would it take??
POL S 422
8
Green Politics Beyond the State





Subnational initiatives
– States, cities, neighborhoods
Voluntary & Type-2 Initiatives
– Pew Center on Global Climate Change; ISO 14001;
Forestry Stewardship Council; Marine Stewardship
Council
Green investment
– Climate & insurance industry
Earth Charter
– “Declaration of Interdependence”
Exemplary mobilization
– City Repair
– Global Ecovillage movement
– Lifestyle politics
POL S 422
9
Addressing the Root Causes
What underlies I= PAT?
– What are the causes of exponential
growth?
Social structures
Culture & values
 Is there a role for the average citizen in
green diplomacy?

POL S 422
10