Environmental Sustainability - Essay Example

? of the Environmental Sustainability Question One The global commission of environment and development convened by the United Nations was made to address the emerging concern about the repercussions of rapid deterioration of the human environment and natural resources. This led to emergence of a report known the Bruntland report in 1983.The Bruntland report was commissioned in 1987 by Gro Harlem Bruntland and it focused on the global environmental sustainability (Ashford& Hall, 2011). This report addresses issues regarding governments, businesses and peoples’ welfare in environmental and development rules and regulations. This report provided a complete synopsis of the emerging environmental crisis and remedies in solving the problems. This report majorly aimed at discussing environmental development as a single issue. This report gathered various issues relating to environmental problems and initiated a comprehensive breakthrough to sustainability thus encompassing social, economic, political and environmental criteria. The main aim of this report was to provide the country with sustainable environment as from 1987 hence forth (Ashford& Hall, 2011). The idea of sustainability was initiated by the world commission of environmental development which has since been used and redeveloped in the continuous work with sustainability in different scopes. The Bruntland report was majorly divided in three parts that are the major focus of the commissioned report. This report was concerned of the environmental sustainability in the future since the rate of human environmental reduction was very high. However, there were challenges experienced such measures to achieve a supportable growth in the environment. This effect leads to reduction in infant mortality and on the other hand human life expectancy is also high therefore posing a challenge to the global environment (Ashford& Hall, 2011). As the population increase globally thus ensuring sufficient food to withstand the number of persons in the economy thus the environment must be stable and able to support the increasing number. Consequently, this report has embraced major issues regarding to environmental improvement. This is noted as it addresses various policies that can be implemented in allocating various resources to increasing population adequately. Question Two This is an international agreement formulated to protect the stratospheric ozone layer. This agreement was designed in 16th September 1987 in Montreal and substantially amended in 1990 and 1992.This treaty stipulates that production and consumption of materials that diminish the ozone layer in the stratosphere such as chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs), methyl chloro form, carbon tetra chloride and halons are to be eliminated by the year 2000 while methyl chloro form should also be eliminated by 2005(Ashford& Hall, 2011).Scientific theory suggest that ,the moment these compounds are emitted into the atmosphere then they deplete the ozone layer that shields the earth from destroying ultra violet- beta radiation. This agreement was signed by over 140 nations among Argentina, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Denmark, Europe, Egypt, Belgium, Australia, Canada Austria, Congo, Chile and Kenya. This protocol relates to climate change in that it aids in the restricting the use of ozone depleting compounds. This has majorly helped reduce global warming and protect the ozone cover. Therefore, the benefit of this protocol to climate change currently supersedes the one for Kyoto protocol (Ashford& Hall, 2011). This protocol has helped to reduce global warming and protect the ozone layer. This protocol is also essential to the climate change since it has helped reduce the volume of heat confined due to ozone depleting substances as this would be twice as much as present levels. Question Three Transboundary pollution involves the pollution that originates from one country but is not able to damage another country’s environment by passing or crossing borders through air or water. This kind of pollution can be transported across hundreds or even thousands of kilometres. The distance that the pollution can travel or spread cannot be contained within the boundaries of a single country. However, the major problem that emerges from this kind of pollution is that it can carry pollution far away from a heavy emitter and deposit it on a country whose emissions are somewhat low(Ashford& Hall, 2011). In addition, another problem arises from the fact that all things connect hence the heavy pollution that is confirmed in the developed world therefore becomes evident in areas which are remote. This actually becomes visible especially in areas like the Arctic region. Ashford& Hall (2011) suggests that for the last 30 years it has been unmistakable that several environmental problems such as acid and the pollution of many rivers and seas have an international dimension in a manner that they have unidirectional externalities among many. Global problems such as depletion of ozone layer, goal warming, climate change, preservation of diversity and tropical deforestation have made environmental problems more evident. The solution to these problems requires these countries to unite and cooperate hence a political economy is required. The affected nations should design an approach that follows from the need to start appropriate institutions to stipulate and enhance international agreements which are some of the major issues in enhancing the efforts to curb the environmental problems such transboundary pollution (Ashford& Hall, 2011). The application of bargaining mechanism is thus cumbersome and costly especially in the current situation. In addition, there is no precise institutional program to allocate property rights. Consequently, complicating feature of the large number of nations involved and they are structurally highly diverse. International connection is not highly needed since the market mechanism and the bargaining approach do not work satisfactorily at an international phase. However, this is also because the implementation of international environmental policy is difficult and costly because of non-existence of a supranational authority associated with powers of intervention (Ashford& Hall, 2011). Nevertheless, these issues regarding environmental policies can be effectively be implemented through proper innovation and applied technology. This majorly targets aspects such as costs and innovation where by cost saving technologies give rise increases in real wealth which results into effective performance and management in firms such as Dow chemicals thus achieving large cost savings. This argument is used by Porter and it states that nation’s should adopt innovation which conforms to good legislations. This argument elaborates a broader innovation concept to aid in sustainability of the environment. The kinds of innovation embraced as suggested by porter include technological, organizational and presentational innovation (Ashford& Hall, 2011). Technological innovation stems from research while organizational relates to innovative ways of organizing work in area as finance, manufacturing and workforce management. Finally, presentational innovation involves design and marketing. All these measures when put together according to porter’s argument would make our global environment sustainable. Section B Market forces are those forces of demand and supply showing the total influence of self-interested purchasers and vendors on price and number of goods and services delivered in the market. Hence, excessive demand results into high prices and supply while excessive supply causes them to fall. Through this knowledge various policies can be formulated to enable a sustainable global environment (Ashford& Hall, 2011). Through market forces various instruments have been put in place to reduce the societal cost to attain any given level of environmental quality. The market forces can also help in managing the cost of pollution by shifting it more effectively back on to polluters with the CACs. As CACs permit emissions below the regulatory threshold to occur for free, price policies mad tend to encourage people to use goods and services that do less damage to the environment and polluting firms to manage more than required to sell their surplus to others as a profit (Ashford& Hall, 2011). The market forces are associated with the economic instruments to address a host of environmental concerns such as pollution .In this case, policies regarding environmental waste management ensures that resource users pay a rational charge for what they consume or pollute and hence subsidizing cleaner alternatives. Bibliography Ashford, N. A., & Hall, R. P., 2011: Technology, globalization, and sustainable development: transforming the industrial state. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. Read More