Transcript International Environmental Regimes

The Global Environmental
Summits
Group Discussion
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Political factors that shaped the summit? Why did it take place?
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Main characteristics
actors
agendas
conflicts
power relations
outcomes
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Significance (if any) for environmental cooperation and IR
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Main differences/similarities compared to the other two summits
UN Conference on the Human
Environment
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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
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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
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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
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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)
Trends in NGO role in summits
NGOs participation in global environmental summits
9000
8,000
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7000
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1400
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134
0
Stockholm
Rio
Jo'Burg
Was Joburg a failure?
“World Summit of Shameful Deals”
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.