Midterm #1 Flashcards
What are the challenges faced by the SDGs?
-continues to fail to achieve goals due to roadblocks like the covid pandemic, inflation, Ukraine War, rapidly advancing climate change, and trade-offs between the various SDGs
-fails to adress local rights and challenges
-the goals are only aspirational, meaning there is no accountablity for governments to be held to
-it is still also very neo-liberal, with an emphasis on GDP and other neo-liberal measures of success
What are the so called ‘tipping points’?
-seen as multiple levels of risk in which humanity / specific ecological areas can not recover from once tipped past said point
-it is debated that this fails to capture reality and can even justify smaller loses in biodiversity as long as we don’t hit the so called ‘tipping point’
What are the 3 D’s of doughnut economics?
-direction
-diversity
-distribution
What is the Enviromental Kuznets Curve?
-A hypothesized relationship between environmental degradation and per capita income.
-It states that as per capita income increases so will environmental degradation. However eventually a tipping point will be reached in which the high enough per capita income leads to lower environmental degradation
What is decoupling? Relative vs absolute?
-refers to having environmental destruction be decoupled from economic growth. Comes in two forms;
-Absolute decoupling: overall environmental destruction happens at a slower rate however GDP is still rising.
-Relative decoupling: environmental destruction happens at a rate relative to GDP growth however it is slowing down. The amount of destruction per unit of growth is slowing.
-Neither has been achieved and some argue permanent decoupling is impossible due to the need to consume resources to expand.
What is the Circular Economy? Give some major features
Focused on building a closed economy in which;
-Waste and pollution are designed out of the economy
-Products and materials are kept in use
-Natural systems are regenerated and enhanced
Within the context of business models they are characterized by;
-The closing of raw material chains
-A transition from ownership to the provision of services
-More intensive utilization of the functions of products
What are some elements of Circular Economy? (3)
-Taking back model (proeducers collecting used products)
-Repairing broken or damaged items
-Turning waste goods into energy
What is the major critique of the circular economy model?
CE is at the moment only focused within governments and not at the local or social level
What 3 major forms of assistance were provided after the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)?
-UNFCCC
-Global development and multilateral institutions
-Bilateral official development assistance
What was focused on during The Paris Agreement?
-Defined a global goal on adaptation to enhance adaptive capacity and resilience.
Was three parted focusing on state’s
-Adaptation planning and implementation
-Transparency
-Global stock take
What is Community-based adaptation (CBA)? What are the challenges?
-Argues for tailored support at the individual level that enables communities to implement their own personalized responses to climate change
-However challenges include attempting to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of the projects, understanding how it fits within a larger scale policy network, and how they would interact with larger institutions and their own goals.
What are Nature-based solutions (NBS)?
-More likely to succeed if they are part of a holistic approach which includes;
-Participatory design and implementation using different forms of knowledge
-A landscape approach that considers a wide range of connected habitats and the effects that interventions in one habitat or area have on others
-Evaluating and managing the full range of benefits, trade-offs, and conflicts across landscapes and societies
-Implementing NBS as part of an integrated sustainability strategy across sectors
What is the official definition of indigenous status as defined by the UN?
There is none.
What is environmental justice?
Refers to environmental inequality that reinforces and at the same time reflects forms of unequal hierarchy
What is environmental racism?
Refers to the racial dimension of environmental inequality that surfaces around the questions of who has the rights to environmental protection vs who bears the burden of waste and pollution.
What is an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)? Briefly explain the three governance styles
-Indigenous led protections in Canada are insitutiolized through the IPCAs
-It features the Indigenous Circle of Experts (ICE) in an informing role and features diverse governance structures, arrangements, and models.
There are three major forms of governance within the areas;
1: Crown governance in which federal, territorial, and provincial governments retain full authority, power and control over the governance, operation and management of the area. Involvement of indigenous governments is limited to co-management
2: Shared governance in which governance, authority, power, and control are shared between indigenous govenrments and federal, territorial and provincial governments
3: Indigenous governance in which indigenous communities have sole authority over how the area is governed, operated, and managed.
What is two-eyed seeing?
Refers to seeing from one eye with the strengths of indigenous knowledge and with the other the strength of western knowledge. Using both eyes together for the benefit of all.
Briefly explain the UN Declaration on the RIghts of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
-Canada originally refused to sign but endorsed it in 2010
-It affirms the rights of indigenous peoples to their territories and lands. Including the rights to protect them and ensuring minimum standards for their survival, dignity, and well-being.
What is energy poverty?
Refers to insufficient access to electricity and other forms of energy . Not explicitly poverty caused by or related to lack of electricity.
