GP- Human Rights & Environmental global governance: Environmental global governance

Question 1

What do scientists estimate about the rise in global temperatures?

Answer 1

A: Scientists estimate that global temperatures have risen by 1°C compared with pre-industrial levels and will continue to rise by approximately 0.1°C to 0.3°C every decade.

Question 2

Q: What is the scientific consensus on the cause of global warming?

Answer 2

A: There is agreement among scientists that global warming has been caused by human activity and harmful emissions of carbon dioxide and methane.

Question 3

Q: What are the main causes of climate change, according to the text?

Answer 3

A: The burning of fossil fuels (such as coal and oil), deforestation (cutting down trees that are vital for carbon dioxide absorption), and increased cattle farming.

Question 4

Q: What is the “Tragedy of the Commons” theory?

Answer 4

A: The theory that individual actors place economic self-interest above the collective good of the community, so depleting the planet’s resources.

Question 5

Q: What are “Global Commons”?

Answer 5

A: The natural environment that all states share, including the atmosphere, oceans, polar regions, and outer space.

Question 6

Q: What is “Sustainability” or “Sustainable Development”?

Answer 6

A: The principle which states that development should take place in such a way as to prevent negative impact on the needs of future generations.

Question 7

Q: What did American ecologist Garrett Hardin argue in 1968?

Answer 7

A: That specific actors fail to protect the global commons as they put their own self-interest above the combined well-being of the planet.

Question 8

Q: Why might nation states and businesses refuse to reduce their carbon emissions?

Answer 8

A: Because they perceive that it will be economically costly and they hope to free-ride on the good actions of other global actors who do act to reduce their carbon emissions.

Question 9

Q: How does “Sustainable Development” challenge the “Tragedy of the Commons” thesis?

Answer 9

A: It argues that economic development can and must be achieved without harming the environment and putting the developmental needs of future generations at risk.

Question 10

Q: What is the definition of “Sustainable Development” from the Brundtland Report (1987)?

Answer 10

A: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Question 11

Q: What are the potential consequences of not taking sufficient action on climate change?

Answer 11

A: Drought, flooding, and extreme weather events will mean that parts of the planet become uninhabitable for humans.

Question 12

Q: What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

Answer 12

A: 17 sustainable targets for nation states to work towards by 2030, launched in 2015.

Question 13

Q: What are the two contrasting ideological approaches to the environment mentioned?

Answer 13

A: Shallow green ecology and deep green (radical) ecology.

Question 14

Q: What is “Shallow Green Ecology”?

Answer 14

A: It aims to protect the environment so that human beings can continue to benefit from it. It represents an anthropocentric (human-centered) approach to environmental sustainability.

Question 15

Q: What do Shallow Green Ecologists seek to do?

Answer 15

A: Manage a consumerist/capitalist society so that it avoids the worst consequences of climate change.

Question 16

Q: What is “Deep Green (Radical) Ecology”?

Answer 16

A: It argues that the natural environment should be protected for its own sake rather than for the benefit of humans.

Question 17

Q: Who developed the thesis associated with Deep Green Ecology?

Answer 17

A: Arne Naess.

Question 18

Q: What is the core idea of Deep Green Ecology?

Answer 18

A: That there is a complex web of interconnectivity between all living things, and human beings must reverently share the planet’s resources rather than exploiting them.

Question 19

Q: What did James Lovelock propose in the 1970s?

Answer 19

A: The Gaia thesis, which states that the Earth is a living organism, and for this reason alone it should be reverenced and protected by humans.

Question 20

Q: What is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)?

Answer 20

A: An international agreement establishing a mechanism by which nation states accept the necessity of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and regularly meet to negotiate progress on this.

Question 21

Q: When was the UNFCCC established?

Answer 21

A: At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.

Question 22

Q: How many parties had ratified the UNFCCC by 2023?

Answer 22

A: 198 parties.

Question 23

Q: What does the UNFCCC commit its members to?

Answer 23

A: Acting “to safeguard human security” and meeting annually to discuss solutions to reduce harmful emissions.

Question 24

Q: How are states categorized by the UNFCCC?

Answer 24

A: By economic development, with developed states agreeing to help developing states through financial support.

Question 25

Q: What are the annual summits of the UNFCCC called?

Answer 25

A: Conferences of the Parties (COPs).

Question 26

Q: What was the significance of the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992?

Answer 26

A: It made climate change an issue of global significance and established the UNFCCC as a framework, locking states into annual negotiations and a commitment to reduce carbon emissions to protect the planet.

Question 27

Q: What was the significance of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997?

Answer 27

A: It set the first legally binding emissions targets and established a carbon trading scheme. The EU, for example, reduced its carbon emissions by 8% during the lifetime of the protocol.

Question 28

Q: What was a major weakness of the Copenhagen Conference in 2009?

Answer 28

A: It did not include any legally binding targets on carbon. It therefore still relied on the good intentions of states to reduce carbon emissions.

Question 29

Q: What was significant about the Paris Treaty in 2015?

Answer 29

A: It recognized that global temperature rise should be kept well below 2°C and as close to 1.5°C as possible, and introduced nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

Question 30

Q: What was agreed at the Glasgow summit in 2021?

Answer 30

A: A recommitment to keeping temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C, an agreement to "phase down" coal, and commitments to halt deforestation and achieve "net zero" carbon emissions.

Question 31

Q: What was established at the Sharm El Sheikh summit in 2022?

Answer 31

A: A fund was established to help countries exposed to climate change deal with the resulting "loss and damage". This was due to be administered by a transitional committee tasked with developing solutions and making recommendations.

Question 32

Q: What is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)?

Answer 32

A: A UN-led global panel of scientists that researches and reports on the causes and impacts of, and solutions to, climate change.

Question 33

Q: When was the IPCC established?

Answer 33

A: In 1988.

Question 34

Q: What did the IPCC's 2022 report warn?

Answer 34

A: That already much of the impact of climate change was "irreversible" and that temperature rise would pass 1.5°C by 2040, with catastrophic consequences.

Question 35

Q: What are some key obstacles in climate change negotiations?

Answer 35

A: Disagreement between developed and developing states, the "tragedy of the commons" theory, and politicians prioritizing short-term objectives.

Question 36

Q: What role does global civil society play in climate change action?

Answer 36

A: Pressuring states to take the climate emergency more seriously through campaigns, lobbying, and raising public awareness.

Question 37

Q: What are some examples of global civil society action?

Answer 37

A: Campaigns by activists like Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate, work by NGOs like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, and funding by organizations like the Gates Foundation.

Question 38

Q: What are some other political organizations providing leadership on climate change?

Answer 38

A: The EU and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.

Question 39

Q: What is carbon trading?

Answer 39

A: A system where states and MNCs that produce fewer emissions can sell carbon credits to those with excessive carbon emissions.

Question 40

Q: What are some criticisms of carbon trading?

Answer 40

A: That it sends the wrong message by allowing continued emissions and that it may not be sufficient to resolve the problem.

Question 41

Q: Are international climate change summits making progress?

Answer 41

A: Yes, in terms of creating a global consensus and encouraging progress through NDCs, but progress is still too slow, and states' pledges are not sufficiently ambitious.