Global Environmental Issues
- Global environmental issues affect everyone and agreements need to support from all nations
- The UN has/is trying to manage many of the world's environmental issues, but has seen varying success
- Over time, numerous other agencies, IGOs and agreements have come into being that deal with particular issues and environmental governance
Atmosphere
Montreal Protocol (1987)
- The Earth's atmosphere and biosphere are shared resources, (a global commons), that everyone relies on
- The ozone layer, is a thin, protective blanket of gas in the Earth's atmosphere, which absorbs the sun’s ultraviolet radiation
- In 1974, a group of scientists suggested that chemicals used in products such as aerosols, packaging and fridges, could deplete the ozone layer and increase harm to humans and wildlife on earth
- By 1985, the ozone depletion theory was proven, when a 'hole in the ozone layer' was discovered over Antarctica
- International concern over the ozone's thinning, led to previously unseen multilateral action to ban chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
- An agreement was signed two years later and entered into force in 1989
- Six amendments and adjustments have been made since then
- The agreement regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 ozone depleting substances (ODS), such as CFCs, halons, HCFCs, methyl bromide and HFCs
- The agreement has been successful in reducing the global emissions of ODS and restoring the ozone layer, as well as contributing to climate change mitigation
- The Montreal Protocol was ratified (agreed) by all 197 member countries of the UN and was a first in international co-operation
- It is expected that the ozone layer will be fully recovered by 2070
- Most ODSs are also greenhouse gases, therefore, the Montreal Protocol has prevented 135 billion tonnes of CO2 greenhouse gas emissions, which makes the agreement an important contributor against global warming
Kyoto Protocol and COP21
- As an issue, climate change was first raised at the UN Earth Summit Conference of 1992
- Debates followed as to which nations should be held responsible for the majority of emissions, or if there was any evidence at all to climate change or global warming
- Eventually the Kyoto Protocol was agreed as an international treaty which committed industrialised countries, and economies in transition, to limit and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions
- Adopted 1997 and entered into force in 2005 it finally recognised that developed countries are largely responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere
- COP 21 stands for 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
- Held in Paris in 2015 and resulted in a legally binding international treaty on climate change
- The Paris Agreement aims to hold the global average temperature increase to 'well below 2°C' above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to '1.5°C'
- The Agreement requires countries to submit their national climate action plans, known as 'nationally determined contributions (NDCs)', and update them every five years
- Overall, international co-operation on climate change has been very slow and many see it as a failure of international governance
- Critics of the Paris Agreement argue that pledges to reduce carbon emissions are not enough and cannot be enforced
Biosphere
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
- CITES is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of international trade and organised by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)
- Legal trade in wild animals and plants (alive or dead) is worth an estimated US$220 billion each year
- The illegal wildlife trade is worth around US$23 billion a year and is the fourth largest illegal activity worldwide, behind only arms, drugs and human trafficking
- It took 12 years of negotiation and was signed in 1973 by 80 countries and now has 183 countries as of 2021
- It lists 40,000 species of animals and plants, whether traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs
- It regulates trade through a system of permits and certificates issued by national authorities
- It works with other international organisations and conventions to promote conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
- CITES is considered a success in recording the trade in wild plants and animals and managing species that can be traded legally to protect endangered species
- However, protection of species from illegal trade is difficult to manage as goods typically cross borders between countries which requires international cooperation and is expensive to monitor
- China still trades in illegal ivory and rhino horn for traditional medicines
- Pangolins are believed to be the world's most trafficked mammal, accounting for as much as 20% of all illegal wildlife trade
- Traded for their scales for use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), but also as a luxury food in Vietnam and China