YASH KARUNAKARAN

Topic : Global environmental governance (Module 3.3) Date: Week 9 Class Number 33-36

Presentation Key Points to be taught Additional information What kind of questions /Debatable/ponderable
(Lecture, PPT, (Notes, Web sites, / points be raised as a consequence of
Discussion) Audio visual material presentation : one or two
etc.)
The students  What is global environmental governance – why did a See notes attached
below.  What are the major shortcomings of
were given a need for the same arise
global environmental governance?
lecture which was  Major institutions dealing with Global environmental Also see:
followed by a
https://unfccc.int/  Why are nations backing out of the
governance
debate and  UNFCCC?
Formation of the UNEP
discussion on   What differentiates Global
What is the UN environmental management group –
various topics. Environmental Governance from
what are its aims
Global Governance of trade or
 Discussion on UNFCCC; Kyoto Protocol
finance?
 Issues faced by global environmental governance
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Global environmental governance (GEG) is a field that includes the institutions, processes, initiatives, actors, and organizations that
shape environmental actions and outcomes in the global realm. Although GEG is studied from several disciplinary perspectives in the
social sciences, we start by focusing on GEG research that has emanated from scholarship on global environmental politics, which, in
turn, has its origins in the political science discipline of international relations. As the study of global environmental politics matured,
the questions it asks and theoretical approaches it applies have, however, increased its connections to other disciplines that study GEG,
including geography, sustainability science, and sociology.

Global Environmental Governance (GEG) is the sum of organizations, policy instruments, financing mechanisms, rules, procedures
and norms that regulate the processes of global environmental protection. Since environmental issues entered the international agenda
in the early 1970s, global environmental politics and policies have been developing rapidly.

First see our own benefit/gain , Only later do they see their own personal wellbeing as more closely linked with community-
level public health, and ultimately, much later still, in symbiosis with the global environment. The very destructive nature of man-
made environmental effects has been recognized for a long time. For example, urban overcrowding, absence of sewers, and increased
use of coal combined to create wretched conditions in medieval Europe. The Industrial Revolution was similarly characterized by
contaminated water, poisonous air, and deadly epidemics that were undoubtedly responsible for the premature death of thousands of
people.

Environmental issues may be regulated by regional or global agreements. Some issues, such as air and watercourse pollution or
protection of migratory species, may affect several States, and would require regional actions. Other issues may concern all States,
such as climate change or the depletion of the ozone layer, raising the need for global cooperation. Even issues that may be perceived
as domestic concern might be regulated by an international agreement because of their qualification as a common concern of
humankind. An example is the protection of world natural heritage sites.
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International cooperation is often in a State’s own interest when it comes to environmental protection. International co-operation can
take many forms. It may take the form of a legally binding instrument, such as a treaty, when there is a need for clear and strict rules
to regulate an activity (hard law). It can also be a policy instrument, such as a declaration, which is not legally binding but imposes a
political or moral obligation on States to act in a certain manner (soft law).

As the frequency and severity of local ecosystem damage increased, and as it became clear that local events could and did produce
regional and even global effects, a fundamental change in global environmental thinking and activism began to develop. The result of
the cumulative assaults on the environment was a global call to action that found concrete expression in dozens of major international
environmental fora and hundreds of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).

The major institutional decision coming out of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972) was the
establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which was created to play the lead role in GEG by
coordinating environmental activities within the UN agencies and acting as a catalyst for new initiatives. Since then, the world has
seen hectic activity in global environmental policy (and, more recently, in sustainable development policy) and a host of treaties,
organizations and mechanisms have emerged. 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal
Protocol)
The 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the 2002 Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development mark just two of the many policy
landmarks of this rapid evolution of the GEG system.

Since the first United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 - known as the Earth Summit, it was recognized
that achieving sustainable development would require the active participation of all sectors of society and all types of people. Agenda
21, adopted at the Earth Summit, drew upon this sentiment and formalized nine sectors of society as the main channels through which
broad participation would be facilitated in UN activities related to sustainable development. These are officially called “Major
Groups” and include the following sectors: Women Children and Youth Indigenous Peoples Non-Governmental Organizations Local
Authorities Workers and Trade Unions Business and Industry Scientific and Technological Community Farmers
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Major institutions, such as the World Bank as well as the World Trade Organization, claim sustainable development as their
overarching goal. A similar growth of interest is also seen within nonUN international and regional institutions in terms of
environmental and sustainable development concerns.

A measure of the diversity of actors within the United Nations system whose activities somehow impact the environment is the
membership of the UN Environmental Management Group (EMG) which was established by the UN Secretary General to “enhance
UN system-wide inter-agency coordination” and whose membership consists of “programmes, organs and specialized agencies of the
UN system, and all of the secretariats of multilateral environmental agreements.”Each of these organizations has a defined
environmental mandate and many have specified environmental activities.

Basel Convention Secretariat Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) Secretariat Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES) Secretariat Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Secretariat Economic and Social Commission for Africa (ECA)
Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Economic and Social Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA)
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Global Environment Facility (GEF) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) International Labour
Organization (ILO) International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) Secretariat
International Trade Center (ITC) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) 10 Global Environmental Governance: A Reform Agenda GEG.qx 8/22/06 11:34 AM Page 10 Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Ramsar Convention on Wetlands Secretariat Convention to Combat Desertification
(CCD) Secretariat UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs/ Division
for Sustainable Development (UNDESA/DSD) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations Framework
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Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) United Nations Human Settlements
Programme (HABITAT) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) United
Nations University (UNU) Universal Postal Union (UPU) World Food Program (WFP) World Health Organization (WHO) World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) The World Bank World Trade Organization
(WTO) World Tourism Organizations

than two hundred multilateral environmental treaties and the more than one thousand bilateral agreements that have come into force to
protect endangered species, restore the stratospheric ozone layer, regulate hazardous waste disposal, clean up atmospheric and oceanic
pollution, and mitigate climate change, among other things, then environmental diplomacy can be judged a great success.16 On the
other hand, the fact is that most of these treaties lack adequate financial support, and sanctions for non-compliance are either not
provided or are unenforceable. Nations continue to make only vague commitments to the treaties, which means that "even as the
number of treaties climbs, the condition of the biosphere continues to deteriorate."'7 In fact, glaciers are shrinking worldwide and the
melting of polar ice and large areas of permafrost in Alaska, Canada, and Siberia is accelerating. Carbon dioxide levels in the
atmosphere have reached record highs and climate change will continue for possibly hundreds of years, even assuming that
atmospheric concentrations stabilize. Scientists are also warning that we are in the midst of a mass extinction of species, that the
world's fisheries are depleted, and that water shortages loom worldwide
The recent history regarding stratospheric ozone management demonstrates that when there is scientific consensus and public opinion
is mobilized, and when the cost of compliance is relatively modest, widespread acceptance is possible.
U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the subsequent Kyoto Protocol
Finally, the United States, until recently the largest emitter of GHG,3 ' unilaterally withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol and stands
almost alone in defying the emerging global consensus.
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The major differences between global efforts to reverse ozone depletion and mitigate climate change are the cost of change and the
number of vested interests. Phasing out CFCs involved relatively few producers and modest cost across a narrow range of commercial
applications in comparison to the staggering projected cost of GHG abatement. The global economy is fossil fuel-dependent and
significant reductions in GHG emissions and transitioning to alternative energy sources will be the most expensive international effort
ever undertaken, but the cost of doing nothing or doing too little too late would be even greater.4 ° Powerful global interests are
already aligning and jockeying for influence in what may prove to be the defining environmental policy confrontation of the twenty-
first century

global governance is not global government, but "an irreversible process [where] authority is increasingly disaggregated, resulting in a
system of global governance that comprises more and more centres of authority in every corner of the world and at every level of
community. Prominent among those proliferating centers of influence are non-state actors, such as non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), multinational corporations, and certain international organizations.

modest financial demands on ratifying states have become increasingly burdensome, especially on less-developed countries. To assist
those with inadequate financial and technological resources, the Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and
Development recommended the creation of an experimental facility to help developing countries meet the terms of the treaties.
Brundtland's recommendation resulted in the creation of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on an interim basis in 1991, as a joint
venture of the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), the UNEP, and the World Bank.

Convening of conferences: • 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE, Stockholm) • 1992 UN Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED, Rio de Janeiro) • 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, Johannesburg)
• 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (“Rio+20”, Rio de Janeiro) Major environmental bodies created: • 1972 United
Nations Environment Programme • 1992 Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD, concluded 2013) • 2012 High-level
Political Forum on Sustainable Development
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