GP- Human Rights & Environmental global governance: Environmental global governance Flashcards
What do scientists estimate about the rise in global temperatures?
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.
Q: What is the scientific consensus on the cause of global warming?
A: There is agreement among scientists that global warming has been caused by human activity and harmful emissions of carbon dioxide and methane.
Q: What are the main causes of climate change, according to the text?
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.
Q: What is the “Tragedy of the Commons” theory?
A: The theory that individual actors place economic self-interest above the collective good of the community, so depleting the planet’s resources.
Q: What are “Global Commons”?
A: The natural environment that all states share, including the atmosphere, oceans, polar regions, and outer space.
Q: What is “Sustainability” or “Sustainable Development”?
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.
Q: What did American ecologist Garrett Hardin argue in 1968?
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.
Q: Why might nation states and businesses refuse to reduce their carbon emissions?
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.
Q: How does “Sustainable Development” challenge the “Tragedy of the Commons” thesis?
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.
Q: What is the definition of “Sustainable Development” from the Brundtland Report (1987)?
A: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Q: What are the potential consequences of not taking sufficient action on climate change?
A: Drought, flooding, and extreme weather events will mean that parts of the planet become uninhabitable for humans.
Q: What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
A: 17 sustainable targets for nation states to work towards by 2030, launched in 2015.
Q: What are the two contrasting ideological approaches to the environment mentioned?
A: Shallow green ecology and deep green (radical) ecology.
Q: What is “Shallow Green Ecology”?
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.
Q: What do Shallow Green Ecologists seek to do?
A: Manage a consumerist/capitalist society so that it avoids the worst consequences of climate change.
Q: What is “Deep Green (Radical) Ecology”?
A: It argues that the natural environment should be protected for its own sake rather than for the benefit of humans.
Q: Who developed the thesis associated with Deep Green Ecology?
A: Arne Naess.
Q: What is the core idea of Deep Green Ecology?
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.
Q: What did James Lovelock propose in the 1970s?
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.
Q: What is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)?
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.
Q: When was the UNFCCC established?
A: At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.
Q: How many parties had ratified the UNFCCC by 2023?
A: 198 parties.
Q: What does the UNFCCC commit its members to?
A: Acting “to safeguard human security” and meeting annually to discuss solutions to reduce harmful emissions.
Q: How are states categorized by the UNFCCC?
A: By economic development, with developed states agreeing to help developing states through financial support.
Q: What are the annual summits of the UNFCCC called?
A: Conferences of the Parties (COPs).
Q: What was the significance of the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992?
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.
Q: What was the significance of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997?
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.
Q: What was a major weakness of the Copenhagen Conference in 2009?
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.
Q: What was significant about the Paris Treaty in 2015?
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).
Q: What was agreed at the Glasgow summit in 2021?
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.
Q: What was established at the Sharm El Sheikh summit in 2022?
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.
Q: What is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)?
A: A UN-led global panel of scientists that researches and reports on the causes and impacts of, and solutions to, climate change.
Q: When was the IPCC established?
A: In 1988.
Q: What did the IPCC’s 2022 report warn?
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.
Q: What are some key obstacles in climate change negotiations?
A: Disagreement between developed and developing states, the “tragedy of the commons” theory, and politicians prioritizing short-term objectives.
Q: What role does global civil society play in climate change action?
A: Pressuring states to take the climate emergency more seriously through campaigns, lobbying, and raising public awareness.
Q: What are some examples of global civil society action?
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.
Q: What are some other political organizations providing leadership on climate change?
A: The EU and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.
Q: What is carbon trading?
A: A system where states and MNCs that produce fewer emissions can sell carbon credits to those with excessive carbon emissions.
Q: What are some criticisms of carbon trading?
A: That it sends the wrong message by allowing continued emissions and that it may not be sufficient to resolve the problem.
Q: Are international climate change summits making progress?
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.
