As we are going to see, the United Nations has participated as one of
the main actors to fight against the global warming, to make the
population be aware about the dangers of this process, and also as a
main player to set up international institutions to gather all the
information, share it with other countries and debate about them in
order to get solutions and compromises form the countries. Therefore,
important cooperative platforms for politicians and scientists.
During this essay we are going to see how this global warming problem
started, what implications it has, and the attempts of the United
Nations to establish a global governance and different convention to
fight against it.
During
the process of industrialization that started in the United Kingdom
during the second half of the 19th
Century, the human being have been using coal, and later oil, as a
source of energy for their machines. These energy sources release a
large amount of C02 (among other gases). This pattern of energy is
the responsible, according with different scientists, to the rise of
the global temperatures and other effects in the climate of different
regions on the Earth.
This
idea started to be accepted among the society during the second half
of the 20th
Century and a feeling that something must be done to stop it started
to be spread among the population of the developed countries. Also,
during the 60s and 70s of the past Century the first signs of the
global warming started to be visible, like less snow cover during the
winter, retreat of the glaciers, irregular pattern of rainfall, more
number of floods and torrential rain, and in the Gulf of Mexico,
increased number of hurricanes (and the same for the typhoons in
Eastern Asia).
But,
the worst observed effects of the global warming have been in Africa.
The consequences of the global warming do not have been more severe
in Africa than other parts of the World. The truth is that neither
have been soft (floods, long droughts, heat waves...). But they have
had a terrible effects because they have been suffered by countries
with a weak preventing systems and by poor persons that could not,
and cannot, fight against these factors in a proper way. For example
in the African region of the Sahel, there has been a drought that has
lasted for many years, provoking the failure of the agriculture and
leaving thousands of persons without a food supply.
With
the appearance of post-materialist movements in the 70s in the
developed countries, linked with the war of Vietnam, neo-liberal
governments and the reduction of the welfare systems (in the United
States (Ronald Reagan), the United Kingdom (Margaret Thatcher), and,
in a smaller way in France and Germany). There was an increase in the
studies of this field and the first applications of the newly
technologies to save energy. This studies and number and
sophistication of technologies and applications will be increasing in
an exponential way with the pass of the years.
Among this new concern of the global warming and starting debate the
United Nations tried to be an agenda setter actor. This institution
tried to lead the debate through the creation by different UN
agencies, jobs about applications, regulations and awareness of the
effects of the global warming (for example the Food and Agriculture
Organization boosted the debate about the global warming and its
consequences). And later by organizing international conventions
inviting NGOs, Governments and other main actors involved (like
companies) to debate about how to control and regulate the global
warming. With this conventions, the United Nations was trying: to
make the public opinion aware of this problem, boost the cooperation
of different governments, enhance the investigation on the scientific
way and also on the policy-making side, and build a final common
opinion and set-up of objectives.
With
these previous mentioned actions the United Nations as a global
institution, approached to the concept of global governance. Trying
to mediate among the countries and suggesting solutions, unifying
policies and efforts to attack the problem in an effective way.
Added
to the conventions, that we will explain in some lines ahead. The
United Nations, through the General Assembly, created the IPCC
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) in 1988, this is a board
of scientists in charge of advice the governments about weather and
climate change issues. And is the responsible for a great number of
investigations and models of where is the global warming going. The
IPCC has been one of the most successful measures taken by the United
Nations, as it has founded a big support among the countries and has
led a big number of discussions among scientist and policy-makers of
the governments involved, resulting in importance recommendations for
further measures awaiting to be taken by the governments; and
numerous documents used by researchers at Universities and other
institutions.
The first convention was “The United Nations conference on the
Human Environment” in 1972. With the innovation that the
environment was seen as a source of health and well-being for the
human being and that every person have the right to enjoy it. This
set up the bases for new policies more respectful with the citizens
and, for example, pushed up the numbers of national parks in the
developed countries. Although, in the undeveloped countries nothing
changed. But the gap North-South was bigger, and increasing, in term
of social progress, economic performance and respect and quality of
the environment.
The next summit in 1992 went a little bit forward. This summit,
called “The Earth summit” in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) included
more sustainable measures, like promoting the use of public transport
more respectful with the environment or the use of alternative
energies instead of fossil fuels.
The
Rio de Janeiro summit produced and international treaty that would be
used as the base for future protocols: The United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change. This framework convention stated a
reduction of greenhouse gases. But it did not establish any number
nor objective. This was left for future updates of the objectives in
specific areas.
An
important part of this United Nations Framework is that there is an
assumption of responsibilities by the countries. But not all the
countries are responsible in the same way. Here is made a
differentiation among developed countries, developing countries and
undeveloped ones. The developed countries are the ones with bigger
responsibility because during the way to arrive to this status they
have pollute in a great quantity, and even currently they are doing
so. On the other hand the developing countries are increasing they
rates of pollution in an exponential way, specially China and India.
Finally the undeveloped countries, because of their situation do not
pollute much, although their economic activities have an important
impact in the environment because they do not respect the ecological
standards. To this Framework was added at the “annex” part the
level of emissions of some countries in order to use them as a
reference for objective targeting of future agreements. (Davenport
2008: 51)
Also
in the United Nations Framework it was adopted the “Precautionary
Principle” that means that, despite we do not know with certainty
what is going to result of the increase of greenhouse gases, this
does not mean that we are not going to avoid it. (Davenport 2008: 51)
Another relevant agreement was the adoption of sustainable
development, translated by someone as “change the World without
changing the Planet”, highlighting the idea that we can live in a
better planet without destroying the Planet and changing the
environment. This principle will influence in a great way the
policies of several countries, as Spain, whose energy is now
generated in an average of 30% by renewable energies (Méndez, 2010)
(Davenport 2008: 51)
It also establish the compromise of the developed countries to reduce
the level of emissions by the numbers managed in 1990. This a crucial
point, although no legally binding, because separates the developed
from the developing countries. With this the progress of the
developing countries will not be compromised by the emissions
objectives, as, it can be said, that they started to pollute many
years after the developed ones. (Davenport 2008: 51)
This Framework also establish the compromise of the developed
countries to help the developing ones to reduce the emissions by
transition of technologies and financial assistance. This mechanism
is intended to reduce the pollution prize of the developing
countries. (Davenport 2008: 51)
All
these agreement points, although not legally binding, will have an
important influence in future conventions and agreements, as they
will be used as a base for future improvements and bigger ambitions.
And also at the national level in new policies and attitudes towards
the environment.
One
of these future treaties (or agreement) that will use the UN
Framework will be known as a protocol, and is the Kyoto Protocol, a
legally binding part of the treaty that established a reduction of
the greenhouse gases lower than the 1990 level. But, it was only
legally binding for the developed countries, as it is considered that
they have a bigger part of the global warming responsibility.
It was signed and ratified by all the countries except for the US and
Canada. Although the other countries did not succeed in a great way
with the accomplishment of the objectives.
The
Protocol of Kyoto established targets of reduction of greenhouse
gases in a five percent lower than the ones released in 1990. But
there was also some mechanism of flexibility like a market of rights
of emissions. For example, if an economy is going to grow in a
greater way than expected (the economic growth is always linked with
more emission of gases) can buy rights of emission to a third country
that is not going to use them.
But, there is not a political willingness to respect these
agreements. This is known because in 2010 there was a reduction in
the number of rights to pollute of 5% according to the figures of the
World Bank, but the pollution was increased in a bigger rate in the
same year. (Balsells, 2011)
Linked with this breach of the treaty are many reasons like:
The first one is that this treaty will affect the performance of the
most developed economies and that the developing economies should
also pay for their pollution (over all India and China; as they have
the financial strength to do it). This is the reason why the United
States officially refuse to ratify the Protocol of Kyoto.
Another reason is the lobby done by the conventional energy companies
(like Chevron in the United States) o heavy industries like the
aluminum (like the also American Alcoa). Because this Protocol
represents millions of dollars in industrial reconversion.
The
Kyoto Protocol was effective from 2005 to 2012. But as there was not
willingness of the Governments, and in the middle of an economic
crisis, neither the companies were up to face additional loses for
polluting. Then, they started a campaign to stop the negotiation of
another substitute of the us-by-date Kyoto Protocol. These are one of
the main causes why the Copenhagen Convention failed to achieve a
substitute in 2009. In this convention the European Union was the
only developed country that was defending the continuation of the
Kyoto Protocol
During
the Kyoto Protocol and after it was clear that there is a split
between producers and exporters of oil. Because, it is assumed that,
generally, the OPEC countries are not interested in the reduction of
greenhouse gases. (Davenport 2008: 50) As it is known, the only
possibility that a climate change succeed is including in the
agreement the members that are not so worried about this problem
because their economies are based in carbon exports like Russian and
the already mentioned countries that are the main producers of oil.
(Victor, 2011: 265)
In
this situation. And with the blockage of the Conventions, the United
Nations has demonstrated itself to be unable to continue leading the
“global governance” over this topic, because the other actors
involved are pursuing their own national objectives without
negotiating with the international community. This is the idea of the
United States, which is in the pursuit of an stable economic growth,
and leaving the threat of recession and the economic crisis behind,
without taking into account that this growth is provoking an increase
of emissions of greenhouse gases and this is affecting to the other
persons in the world.
Summarizing, we can affirm that the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change was a key agreement that led to the
well-known Kyoto Protocol. It set-up the bases for a bigger
cooperation among countries, and also among regions, trying to reduce
the emissions and also helping each other with the transition of
technology, and the financial aid when it was needed. But, because of
the blocking and inactivity of some vital players, this cooperation
was mainly reduced to the European Union and some undeveloped and
developed countries. With this unwilling attitude of the great
polluters the reduction objectives were almost impossible to reach.
If Russia, China, India, the United States, Australia, Brazil,
Canada, Mexico were have been more committed to this task, then the
outcome would have been different, and not like today, with the
negotiations for another protocol blocked. The framework for the
cooperation it is already built, with norms and agreements that cover
all the stages, the only thing left it is political willingness.
But the United Nations has to find another way to impose, or at least
unblock the situation where the conventions are. Because the next
global warming convention that is going to be held soon in Doha it is
expected that is going to be closed without any improvement or
agreement. Another solution would be look for another system that
could substitute the figures of Conventions (with many actors and
interests involved), like the proposal of the United Kingdom to
include the climate change as a threat to the world, therefore it
could be deal by the Security Council of the United Nations (the
reason why the United Kingdom proposed this is because they defend
that the global warming can be the cause of future wars because of
the rise of seas and shrinking of resources. This was known as green
helmets peace-making missions) (Goldenberg, 2011). The UN has helped
to provide a Framework for the cooperation of the governments to
fight against this problem. But further social transformations are
needed to make the transition from fossil fuels to other sources
easier and also reducing the groups of interest that depend on this
business and currently are helping to block the negotiations of the
Conventions.
Biography:
Méndez, Rafael, 2010 Las renovables baten otra marca y ya producen
el 35% de la electricidad. El País,
28th
December. Available at:
Balsells, Ferrán, 2011, Kioto languidece y la ONU prevé aún más
calentamiento. El País, 2nd
of June. Available at:
Goldenberg, Suzzane, UN Security Council to
consider climate change peacemaking. The
Guardian, 20th
July. Available at:
Victor, David G., Global
Warming Gridlock, 2011. Chapter 8.
Davenport, Devorah, Turning
down the heat, 2008.
Bradley Jr., Robert L., Climate
Alarmism Reconsidered, 2003. Chapter 5.
Victor, David G., The
Collapse of the Kyoto Protocol and the struggle to slow global
warming, 2001.
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