The International Environment Flashcards
What are collective goods?
Something that once created becomes freely available to everyone
Why are public / collective goods a problem?
Since they are available freely to everyone once created, there are few incentives to contribute to the public / collective goods
What is the environment?
The external surroundings in which a plant or animal lives
What is a solution to the public / collective goods problem?
Privatization / enclosure
International institutions
What is the 1987 Montreal Protocol?
International treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out products that were responsible for ozone depletion
What is the biodiversity problem?
Extinction of plant and animal species due to human activity
How was the biological diversity problem handled?
1992 Convention on Biological Diversity
1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)
International Whaling Commission
What is the climate change problem?
Rising temperatures due to human use of greenhouse gases
What is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC 1992)?
An environmental treaty established to combat “dangerous human interference with the climate system”
What is the Kyoto Protocol
1997 - 2012
Required developed countries to reduce 6 GHGs emissions by 5% by 2012 from 1990 values
Delayed ratification (2005)
What is the Paris Agreement?
2015
Entered into force 2016
Brought developed and developing countries
Keep a global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius
What does environmental protection require?
Agreements must be enforced
International agreements must be negotiated
Governments will not negotiate to change status quo
What is the international cooperation problem?
- Problem recognition phase
- Bargaining phase
- Enforcement phase
