Transcript Environmental Politics

Environmental
Politics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
W7a-Hs9UxYo
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Environment – the totality of surrounding conditions
Ecology – interaction between a species and its
environment
Ecosystem – a system of interactions:
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between all living (organic) things and the physical
environment –
and between themselves
Biosphere – the global ecosystem, including all
ecosystems existing on Earth
Immense network of symbiosis (living together)
Self-regulating balances – emerging, being disturbed,
and then restored again
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Planet Earth
Total number of species (est.) – 2 mln. known, up to 100
mln. unknown (est.)
 They inhabit a closed system – the Earth
 They struggle for survival
 They compete and cooperate
 They modify the environment
The human species stands out in 2 ways*:
 It is the only species capable of endangering or even
destroying the ecosystems it depends on for survival
 It is the only species which has penetrated every other
ecosystem and established its domination over them
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*Clive Ponting, A Green History of the World. L.: SinclairStevenson Ltd., 1991
 The livable natural environment is maintained by
communities of living organisms whose interactions are
maintained naturally
 Self-regulating world
 Then human interventions begin
 The biosphere copes with these interventions by resetting
the balances
 Survival of the human species is not a required condition in
the restoration of upset balances
 The environmental conditions required to maintain human
life are very unstable
 The essential element: WATER
 Its condition is vulnerable to temperature shifts between
the two extremes:
 an Ice Age, and
 full evaporation of the oceans.
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Ice ages have been typical of the planet’s history
Most recent:
13,000 years ago
500 years ago (the Little Ice Age)
None of them have been triggered off by humans
In the past, humans have created small-scale ecological
disasters – limited to a specific geographical area
(Mesopotamia, Greece)
In the past half-century, we have begun to create a global
ecological catastrophe
Increase in temperature upsets the delicate ecological
balances, triggering off unforeseen changes
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Global Footprint Network:
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.
php/GFN/
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Changes in global temperature, NASA:
http://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/globaltemperature/
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Sea levels rising faster than expected, March 2009:
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"With stiff reductions (of greenhouse gases) in 2050 you
can end the temperature curve (rise) quite quickly, but
there's not much you can do to the sea-level rise anymore.
We are setting in motion processes that will lead to sea
levels rising for centuries to come."
Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf, Potsdam Institute for Climate
Impact Research, Germany.
Depletion of the ozone layer
 The layer of air at the 7-18 km altitude which
protects the planet from excessive ultraviolet
radiation
 Emission of CFCs into the atmosphere
 Ozone holes – over Antarctica, a 3-fold
depletion
Availability of land and water
 The planet has 150 mln. square kms of dry land
 Humans are controlling 28% of it
 This leads to deforestation (5,000 years ago, forests
covered 75% of dry land, today – only 26%),
desertification, depletion of water and other natural
resources, chemical poisoning of soil, water and air
 Every year, we dump 12-15 mln. tons of oil into the
oceans
 150 mln. sq. km out of 361 mln. of the world ocean is
polluted
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The water crisis:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature
/7821082.stm
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Decline of biodiversity
Every year between 17,000 and 100,000 species vanish
from the planet. The speed in which species are
becoming extinct is much faster than in the past.
The last mass extinction was caused by a meteor
collision 65 million years ago.
Study: Ocean life faces mass extinction today:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/science/earth/studyraises-alarm-for-health-of-oceanlife.html?emc=edit_th_20150116&nl=todaysheadlines&nli
d=42733334&_r=0
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Running out of food
The surge in food prices in recent years, following a
century of decline, has been the most marked of the past
century in its magnitude, duration and the number of
commodity groups whose prices have increased.
The ensuing crisis has resulted in a 50–200% increase in
selected commodity prices, driven 110 million people into
poverty and added 44 million more to the undernourished.
Elevated food prices have had dramatic impacts on the
lives and livelihoods, including increased infant and child
mortality, of those already undernourished or living in
poverty and spending 70–80% of their daily income on
food.
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Key causes of the current food crisis are the combined
effects of:
 speculation in food stocks,
 extreme weather events,
 low cereal stocks,
 growth in biofuels competing for cropland and
 high oil prices.
Although prices have fallen sharply since the peak in July
2008, they are still high above those in 2004 for many key
commodities. The underlying supply and demand tensions
are little changed from those that existed just a few months
ago when these prices were close to all-time highs. (The
Environmental Food Crisis, UNEP, 2009)
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The ecological crisis creates threats to international security
Since the end of the Cold War, at least 18 violent conflicts
have been driven by the exploitation of natural resources.
While political and military issues remain critical, concepts
of security and conflict have broadened, with environmental
degradation now seen as a significant contributing factor to
conflict.
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Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything (2014):
http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/one_way_
or_another_everything_changes_20140917
Climate Change and Human Security (a European
Union report, 2008):
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/d
ocs/pressdata/en/reports/99387.pdf
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Natural resources and the environment can be involved in
all phases of the conflict cycle: from contributing to the
outbreak and perpetuation of conflict and to spoiling the
prospects for peace.
The way that natural resources and the environment are
governed has a determining influence on peace and
security.
Investing in environmental management and the
governance of natural resources is an investment in conflict
prevention.
Cooperation over the management of natural resources and
the environment provides new opportunities for
peacebuilding that should be pursued.
From Conflict to Peace-Building: The Role of Natural Resources. UNEP,
2009 http://www.unep.org/publications/search/pub_details_s.asp?ID=3998
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2 developments generated the emergence of ecological
consciousness in the 1960s:
 Pollution – damage to air, water and soil from economic
activities
 The Bomb – danger of nuclear war
Since the 1960s, the environmental movement steadily
grew and began to influence political processes
In the 1990s, concerted international actions to deal with
the ecological crisis began
“Planetarism” (J. Attali): new thinking, driven by the e-crisis
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Main political positions on issues of environmental politics
Mainstream: recognition of the crisis and attempts to
develop governmental and international policies to deal
with the crisis within the existing global political-economic
system
Right-wing: the problems have natural, not human origins,
the human factor is insignificant, increased government
government regulation will damage the economy, greater
market freedom will help deal with ecological problems
Left-wing: The existing global capitalist system is the main
cause of the crisis – and the main obstacle to effective
solutions. Unless the fundamental logic of capitalism is
challenged, the environmental crisis will only get worse
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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change:
http://www.ipcc.ch/#
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Fossil fuel energy generally dominates the following
areas of economic activities:
 agriculture (fertilizers, irrigation, plowing, planting,
harvesting, pesticides)
 transportation & distribution (automobiles, shipping,
trains, airplanes)
 storage (refrigeration, warehousing)
 national defense (armies, tanks, military aircraft,
manufacture of munitions)
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In addition, carbon dioxide emitting fossil fuels
dominate production of electricity for:
 lighting
 heating & cooling
 refrigeration
 production of goods
 computing and telecommunications
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UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992
 acknowledged that climate change was real and caused
by human activities such as land use changes
(deforestation) and burning of fossil fuels
 adopted the Precautionary Principle - that a lack of
scientific certainty should not be used as an excuse for
inaction
 committed Parties to the United Nations Convention to 2
types of action to address climate change:
Mitigation
 Adaptation
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 Mitigation
- reducing greenhouse gas emissions to
prevent dangerous climate change
 Adaptation - taking action to adapt to the climate
change to which the world is already irreversibly
committed. This includes investment in better
planning, strengthened infrastructure, and projects
and programs to adapt agricultural production and
improve food security.
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The Kyoto Protocol (“Kyoto”)
- an amendment to UNFCCC
Negotiated in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997
Open for signing from March 1998 to March 1999
Went into effect in 2005, when ratified by countries
responsible for at least 55% of total greenhouse gas
emissions
To achieve "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations
in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system.“ –
http://unfccc.int/essential_background/convention/backgrou
nd/items/1353.php
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--Legally binding commitments for the reduction of
greenhouse gases
--Countries are required to prepare policies and measures
for the reduction of greenhouse gases in their respective
countries.
--In addition, they are required to increase the absorption of
these gases and utilize all mechanisms available, such as:
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joint implementation,
the clean development mechanism
emissions trading, in order to be rewarded with credits that
would allow more greenhouse gas emissions at home.
--Minimizing Impacts on Developing Countries by
establishing an adaptation fund for climate change.
--Accounting, Reporting and Review in order to ensure the
integrity of the Protocol.
--Compliance. Establishing a Compliance Committee to
enforce compliance with the commitments under the
Protocol.
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Under Kyoto, industrialized countries agreed to reduce their
collective emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2%
compared to the year 1990 (compared to the emissions
levels that would be expected by 2010 without the Protocol,
this limitation represents a 29% cut).
The 6 greenhouse gases are: carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons,
perfluorocarbons
National limitations range from 8% reductions for the
European Union and some others to 7% for the US, 6% for
Japan, 0% for Russia, and permitted increases of 8% for
Australia and 10% for Iceland
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Kyoto is a 'cap and trade' system that imposes national
caps on the emissions of Annex I countries. On average,
this cap requires countries to reduce their emissions 5.2%
below their 1990 baseline over the 2008 to 2012 period.
Although these caps are national-level commitments, in
practice most countries will devolve their emissions targets
to individual industrial entities, such as a power plant or
paper factory.
Allowances and carbon credits have generated a market
This market has grown substantially, with banks, brokers,
funds, arbitrageurs and private traders now participating in a
market valued at about $60 billion in 2007.
In order to
achieve this…
we need to do
this
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Implementation
The First Commitment Period: 2008-2012
Non-compliance:
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USA signed, but refused to ratify, considers itself free of Kyoto
obligations
Canada did ratify, but did not fulfill its obligations – and in Dec.
2011, denounced Kyoto
Problems
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Need to cooperate internationally for the global common good
- vs. competition between nations
Institutions protecting private interests from public interference
The power of greed (capital accumulation)
Obsolete thinking reinforced by propaganda of special
interests
How to force countries to implement
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Need for a Revolution:
http://billmoyers.com/segment/wendellberry-on-his-hopes-for-humanity/