Protecting the Atmosphere: The Climate Change Convention and Its Context by Sten Nilsson & David Pitt

Author:Sten Nilsson & David Pitt [Nilsson, Sten & Pitt, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781134056095
Google: CSn_AQAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 18973021
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 1994-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The AC also established a framework for research and cooperation through an Alpine conference and secretariat. In the crucial clauses (e.g., Article 2.1), the objects of the AC are stated as being preventive, insisting that the polluter pays and that the signatory states cooperate. The objects of the AC, according to the Aga Khan, are not only to prevent the menace of “densification” but also “desertification” (Nouveau Quotidien, 3 Mar. 1993).

The passage of the AC has not been smooth thus far. There is a good deal of opposition in a region where there is a great deal of compartmentalized cultures and interests. Both Switzerland and Austria have cantonal political systems with the constituent parts having very different approaches to ecodevelopment. In Switzerland some mountain cantons have long opposed the hegemony of the plains and want little part in the AC. These same cantons, with allies in other traditional parts of Switzerland, successfully led a campaign in a referendum in December 1992 against Switzerland joining the Expanded European Area and by implication the European Community. Some Francophone (and Slavophone) areas and/or those with memories of a succession of wars fear a renewed German hegemony. Some municipalities have formed their own Alpine alliances (Alpe Arge and Alpe Adria, which include parts of Hungary) and are opposed to rules which come from state governments. In some areas like the Valais there is a mistrust of the ecological movement. At one point there were wild rumors that the WWF was going to drop baskets of rare vipers from helicopters which might have been humorous had it not been for the accompanying physical violence against WWF people. Some ecologists were, in fact, opposed to the AC’s emphasis on rail, and saw it as increasing the outside pressure on a fragile region. The alliance with business is also suspect in some quarters while business itself is wary of the kind of regulation implied in the AC. As in the USA, there are specific lobbies emerging in these regions to combat efforts to mitigate pollution. In Switzerland, there is even an automobile political party, which through the power of popular referenda, is likely to restrict further increased taxes on fuel or their diversion to ecological ends.

For all these reasons the ratification of the AC has not been fast, certainly not as fast as the FC. Three country ratifications are required for the AC to enter into force. On the other hand, as the then Italian Minister of the Environment Carlo Ripa di Meana has said ratification will be an empty shell unless there are tough protocols (Nouveau Quotidien, 3 Mar. 1993). One way of speeding up the process has been to assign to specific countries the preparation of the leading protocols – transport (Switzerland), tourism and planning (France), mountain agriculture and energy (Italy), protection of nature and landscape (Germany), and forests (Austria).

Even if progress has been somewhat slower than the optimistic had hoped for, the AC has engendered a great deal of interest and has been suggested

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