Environment
The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.
Introduction + Imran and Kingsbury
- Urbanisation and Megacities have put increasing pressure on the environment as they grow
- D has to meet the needs of the current generation without compromising future gens ability to do the same
- D needs to be Sustainable
- Imran: New definitions of SD empathise social, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability
- Kingsbury: Planets psychical capacity cannot support such a level of growth and locations are being despoiled and some are running out of resources altogether
- Poor and rural countries are more prone to degradation
Introduction Example
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2010) said that the greatest challenge facing development is that current economic models cannot be sustained as they threaten the eco-system of the planet
Development’s impact on the Environment
- Econ development and production in the north and econ change in the south there has been substantial consequences for the environment
- Environmental issues are ‘transboundary’
Paris Climate Conference (2015)
-195 countries adopted the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal.
-Governments agreed: keeping global
=Average temperature below 2°C;
=Limit the increase to 1.5°C, as it would reduce risks and the impacts of climate change
=Finance $100 billion a year for developing countries by 2020 and a commitment to finance in the future.
Paris Climate Conference: The USA
-June, 2017, US President Trump announced that the U.S. would cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation.
-Stated that “The Paris accord will undermine (the U.S.) economy,” and “puts (the U.S.) at a permanent disadvantage.”
-Saying a withdrawal would help American businesses and workers.
=With over 5,000m tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere each year. USA (5,414 mt CO2 emitted per year) more than any other
Environmental Pressure Points
- Population
- Industrial and Agribusiness
- Deforestation
- Desertification
EPP: Population
-Neo-Malthusian argue that earth resources cannot sustain current levels of population growth
-Developing world cause this by having more children.
-Not enough currently and even if was matched the production wouldn’t be sustainable to Western standards. West can only maintain their levels if the developing world remains underdeveloped
-West could reduce consumption. Western uses 10 to 14 acres of land to sustain consumption during lifetime consumption versus 4.25.
=Cohen and Kennedy: 1.1b in consuming class and the ‘throwaway economy’ created by them isn’t environmentally friendl
EPP: Industrial and Agribusiness
-Industrial tech affecting environment and climate. Carbon dioxide levels continue to rise due to burning fossil fuels for cars and planes
-If China continues at its current path of econ growth it will account for 40% of all global carbon dioxide emissions by 2050
-Position lakes, fertilizers and pesticides
=A 2013 study by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that total annual emissions from animal agriculture were about 14.5% of all human emissions, of which beef contributed 41%. That means emissions from beef production are roughly on par with those of India.
EPP: Deforestation
-Kingsbury: Most sig problem
-Rainforests absorb CD as well as producing oxygen
-Major rainforests like the Indonesian and Amazon will be completely destroyed
=Motivated by poverty and Debt. Brazil cleared 12.5% of Amazon in an attempt to meet loan repayments to the WB. The IMF insistence that they keep to the repayment schedule has led to a cut in Rainforest conservation. Amazon tribes are also forced off the land.
-Forests cover 30% of the land. Estimated in 100 there will be no rainforests. Agriculture is the biggest cause
EPP: Desertification
-In 2000 drought and deforestation affected 1.2b people across 110
-Mainly the result of over-cultivation and overgrazing of poor quality land by poor who are forced to use unsuitable land to survive
-Fertile land not used or controlled by DCs: Cash Crops
=In 1970 Africa was self-sufficient by 1984 1/4 was on food aid due to the decline of agriculture because of deforestation, soil erosion and droughts
CoD: Economic Necessity
-Many of the poor countries have no choice but to use and reuse environmental resources
=Ellwood: Poor do not make good eco-citizens, tribal people plunder the forest o a whim as they are dependent on it for its survival. Animals are poached and slaughtered
CoD: Greed
-Local elites desire to accumulate wealth as well as TNCs at the expense of others
-Results in exploitation and selling of environmental resources
-Cost cutting to increase profits lead to behaviours like dumping toxic waste
=A Dutch court has found multinational Trafigura guilty of illegally exporting toxic waste from Amsterdam and concealing the nature of the cargo.In 2006, Trafigura transported waste alleged to have been involved in the injury of thousands of people in Ivory Coast. Trafigura denied any wrongdoing.
CoD: Western Consumer Demand
- DCs are dependent on raw materials or cash crops for a large part of income and to pay debts
- Overproduction or use of products that don’t consider the impact
- Cut more to meet demand
CoD: Globalisation
- Exports have led to econ growth of the world market and sped up consumption of natural resources
- Increase exports to pay debts
- Oversupply aka farming prices
- Free-Market has to lead to cuts to environmental spending as WB and IMF prevent spending on infrastructure
Modernisation Theory
- Economic Development most important
- The environment is a way to generate wealth
- Land needs to be used for feeding the population and for industrialisation (cash crops=wealth creation)
- Developing countries are “under-polluted”
- Connection to population concerns – neo-Malthusian arguments about the need to control population/Growing populations threaten environmental sustainability/Put efforts into population control. Modern values.
Neo-Liberalism:
-When treated as free and have no value is the issue
-Pearce: Need for proper values on the services offered by the natural environment like fine view, water purification, protect coastal wetlands or biological diversity within the tropical rainforest
-Protect the environment by putting a value on it
-Market incentives should be used such as green taxes and polluters pay the cost of cleaning up
-Free market capitalism will automatically generate solutions to environmental problems, referred to as the ‘technological fix’
=Climate Change Levy: Tax on carbon emissions from businesses in UK/UK emissions trading scheme allows businesses to buy the ability to emit higher levels of pollutants
Evaluation of M and NL
- If we look at the environment in monetary terms it might become more beneficial to pollute, no grantee that the environment will be protected
- Assumes the problem of the market system can be reformed away/only promotes environmental change if there is an economic incentive
- Companies purposely move to areas with less environmental protection
Environmentalism
- For environment and development to coexist then the nature of development must change
- Apporipratie tech and small scale development
- Consumption patterns need to change
- Beck: Inevitable progress needs to be reflected once we consider the potential risks as they will affect everyone/environmental problems effects us all/ ‘poverty is hierarchical smog is democratic’
Environmentalism Example
-Developed countries on average are well off but this hides vast pinequalities in wealth distribution
=July 2014 to 2016, the wealth held by the top 10% of households was around five times greater than the wealth of the bottom half of all households combined
Environmentalism: Jackson (Radical Enviromentalism)
- Poverty and degradation are real. Growth won’t fix these issues but neither will no growth at all. There needs to be quality growth not quantity.
- Suggests the needs to be:
1. )building livelihoods to meet essential needs, 2.)defending poor peoples environment
3. )Letting poor people have a say
Structuralist Approach (Dependency)
-To achieve sustainable development need to consider structural inequalities between DCs and LDCs. The pressure caused results in Environmental issues
-Debt-ridden countries risk the future in order to make revenue. Protection isn’t important to them.
-Redcliffe: Contradiction between development, sustainable development and environment.
-Conflict of interests between rich countries and poor countries. Poverty and inequalities produce unsustainable use of environmental resources
=Rich Countries account for 70% of the energy, 3/5 of the food, 85% of the wood for only 1/4 of the world’s population but India, for example, contains 16% of the world’s population but only uses 3% of the world’s energy
=George: developing countries use their environment to develop (Brazil). Environmental concerns come after development goals. Western demand encourages environmental degradation. Commercial interests dominate environmental. Issues of Poverty need to be solved then people would not need to use their environment in unsustainable ways
