Week 3: Environmental governance : lecture + pre-reading

Question 1

What is governance?

Answer 1

A complex process that considers - multi-level participation beyond the state, where decision making includes the state, the private sector, civil society and society in general.

Question 2

According to Lemos and Agrawal what are the four themes in Environmental governance?

Answer 2

1) Globalisation
2) Decentralisation
3) Market and Agent focused instrument
4) Cross-scale environmental governance.
5)

Question 3

How does globalization impact environmental governance?

Answer 3

**positive: **

+ technology and information transfer
+ shared standards
+ diversifys actors that participate in discourses
+ global partnerships
- global
negative:
- Increases demand
- Race to the bottom: Companies may move production to countries with lax environmental regulations to save costs.
- Free trade limitations: trade agreements often lack environmental protections
- Actions in one area (e.g., pollution) can affect distant regions due to interconnected ecosystems.

Question 4

What is a ‘public-bad’ and how does it relate to environmental governance?

Answer 4

= a global environmental issue like ozone depletion.
> requires more than one nation to handle i.

Question 5

What are the three main negative aspects of international environmental regimes ?

Answer 5

1: Undemocratic Participants: Some participating countries in environmental agreements are not democratic, affecting fair representation.
2: Limited Non-State Actor Participation: While large NGOs and expert groups may participate, other smaller non-state actors often lack access and influence.
**3: Power Imbalance: **Wealthier countries often dominate negotiations, which can limit the influence of poorer or less powerful nations.