International Equity and Global Environmental Politics: Power and Principles in Us Foreign Policy by Paul G. Harris

Author:Paul G. Harris [Harris, Paul G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781351737234
Google: KR8uDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 35866826
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2001-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

International Equity as a Way to Promote Environmental Security

One of the greatest potential environmental threats to U.S. interests is climate change. As argued previously, without the cooperation of the developing countries, international efforts to limit climate change and other forms of global environmental change (e.g., stratospheric ozone depletion) will not be successful. It was well known by the early 1990s that with only moderate economic growth in the developing countries, their carbon dioxide emissions would soon exceed those of the North, giving a substantial push to climate change.54 Indeed, the U.S. Department of Energy reported in 1994 that the carbon emissions of developing countries grew by 82 percent from 1970 to 1992, surpassing the OECD’s in 1983 and remaining above 50 percent of global emissions.55 China by itself, given its rapid economic growth and vast supplies of coal to fuel that growth, could account for 40 percent of global emissions by 2050.56 It is already the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and in coming decades it will surpass the United States. Other large, rapidly developing countries are increasing their carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions at high rates. In the meantime, the developed countries’ emissions will grow slowly or, in several cases, gradually decline per unit of production and per capita, and in some cases even in aggregate. Nevertheless, the growth in the developing countries’ greenhouse gas emissions will overwhelm politically feasible near and medium-term reductions by the developed countries.

In its report, the WHO referred to the importance of considering international equity in efforts to protect the global climate:

Although the adverse consequences of environmentally insensitive economic growth are now understood, wealthy countries cannot expect poorer nations to unilaterally forego the short-term profits to be obtained from use of their natural resources. Economically sustainable development will only be possible if environmentally sound technology is transferred from industrialized to developing countries. If less energy-intensive, affordable technologies are promoted and transferred to developing countries, pollutant emissions will be reduced and the global community as a whole will benefit. If not, poorer nations will have no financial incentives to refrain from using cheap energy-inefficient technology or from harvesting their natural resources. 57

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