Sustainability and Built Environment - Term Paper Example

Running Head: Sustainability and Built Environment Sustainability and Built Environment [Institute’s Sustainability and BuiltEnvironment The paper deals with the discussion that the issue of global warming has emerged as global threat and a heated environment issue for a long time. Moreover, it throws light on all the major international collaborative efforts and summits trying to mitigate the impacts of global warming on mother earth. The paper also accounts the details regarding current progress and development in this regard and the problems for the world’s efforts in mitigating global warming. Global warming has appeared as a major threat to the global environment for the past few years. This human-caused earth warming is rising as one of the most important environmental, social, economic, and technological problem of the present century. (Todd, 1997, p. 99) The consequences of the problem are apparent in every part of the world (Johansen 2002, p. 01). The problem involves melting down of glaciers and ice caps at an accelerating rate higher than normal resulting in a dramatically increased rate of typhoons, tornados, and the hurricanes (Silverstein et al, 2003, p. 06). This has not only induced significant damage all around the world, moreover it has caused disturbance in the global ecosystem (Jabbra & Dwivedi, 1998, p. 26). Increase in earth climate, greater amount of acidity in oceans, accelerated rate of wildfires, heavy rain falls, are some other drastic results of the global warming (Oxlade 2006, p. 22). It is evident that global warming is not only an environmental threat, for instance, coastal areas are apt to remission, the rate of water consumption gets higher than the rate of water supply, and the land for agriculture turns into a waste by soil erosion (Houghton, 2004, p. 322) (Valsson, 2006, p. 116). Around the world, people are trying to find the solution to the problem of global warming and finding the techniques to mitigate its effect (Jones, 1997, p. 04). The best illustration of global collaboration against the disasters induced by global warming is that of the International Panel on Climatic Change. The organization consists of skilled and potent experts from the globe that keep an eye on climatic modeling and changes, and monitor every single alteration in the global ecosystem. IPCC is a perfect embodiment of global strives for a better and healthier mother earth (Williams, 2002, p. 15). The organization appreciates the part people around the world play in this regard, bring issues to the table, and attempt to solve the issues. Had there not be any IPCC we would not have any Kyoto Treaty or the Copenhagen Summits (Clarkson & Malta, pp. 23-25, 2009). At the international platform, countries across the platform felt the immediate urge to form strong bonds in order to fight against global warming on a wider measurement. The countries explicited strong devotion and commitment to fortify international relations in order to mitigate the risks and threats imposed by climatic change and global warming. The U.S. has worked diligently in bringing up these efforts under the umbrella of United Nations Framework Convention on Climatic Change (UNFCCC). The prime causes of global warming is the increased amount of emitted by carbon by the humans, the green house effect and deforestation. The convention emphasizes on increasing the awareness among common people on how to mitigate and nip the evil of global warming in the bud. The convention accentuates on the fact that we can mitigate the accelerated rate of global warming by controlling the emitted carbon and thus saving the ozone layer. It also underlines the more domestic tools as using renewable sources of energy in automobile and other domestic purposes, renewing the conventional light sources, etc. Another very important contribution that has helped a lot in attenuating the effect of global warming is that of the Kyoto Protocol. In December, 1997 the Conference of Parties (COP) made a draft of correct code of conduct with regard to cmilatic change and presented it to the UNFCCC at the third annual meeting of Conference of Parties. Intergovernmental Panel issued the required data that determined the intensity carbon dioxide emission mitigations, required to protect further damages from the climatic change, and for that, Kyoto Protocol regarded as the set of international strategies for attaining the desired goals and objectives. The bodies acorded on the emissions intensities and responded with the sense of resposibility of attenuating the green house gas emissions atleast by 5% for the period from 2008 to 2012 (Clarkson & Malta, pp. 23-25, 2009). It is necessary to mention the International Green Summit that is the conuctive endeavor of the International Green Summit, Inc. and Globally Green Energy Consortium. These leading groups contribut to the summit. The synergism of these famous organization gave rise to the international collaboration between the nations for the mitigation and attenuation of global warming, climatic change, and the disruption in global ecosystem as to build a sustainable and better global environment. These organizations have put all there efforts in creating awareness among the people and accentuating the significance of a greener, helathier, and better environment. During the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, several important points regarding how to mitigate the effect of global warming came to the table, discussed, that led to the conclusion of various results regarding stopping the global warming effect (Clarkson & Malta, pp. 37-38, 2009). Spokepeople of different governements, regional government bodies, and non governmental groups were present at the ocassion and they took an oath as to take immediate action on the high priority environmental issues including climatic change, the green house effect, energy health, biodiverseness. As a deviation from conventional conference exercise, these bodies presented a modern, ground breaking, and innovational mechanis or model as to get into physical practice and putting action in the words and promises made in the conference. Many governmental orginizations, non governmental bodies, representative of business and civil society provided the ground required for these actions. Along with the mutual agreements and conclusions, there were other very significant aspects to the conference, these aspects included the dialogues and negotiations regarding setting goals and objectives for cutting down poverty, attenuating global environmental abjection, and mitigating global warming as to get the sustainable development and better built environment across the globe (World Summit on Sustainable Development, 2002). Another very significant advancement in the same regard is the drafting of Agenda 21. Agenda 21 serves as a design for sustained environment development and growth into the 21st Century. During the Earth Summit held at Rio in the year 1992, the basis of the Agenda came into discussion, decided and then signed as a result of of mutual agreement between members. Total 179 Government’s Heads and State Officials were present at the summit and since then the summit has put great efforts to stop global warming (World Summit on Sustainable Development, 2002). In the recent G-8 Summit of leading industrial nations held in Italy, Rome. The global warming issue was discussed as a major threat to the world’s development and economic growth. The issue occupied top position in the summit agenda. On Wednesday, November 19, 2008, twenty-six global leaders belonging to different countries joined hand in the war against global warming at the Governor’s Summit. They signed on to a resolution recognizing the menaces induced by global warming, its threats to economic development and turning to the states to form strong relations and fortify conjunctive endeavors to carry out the schematic strategies in order to mitigate the greenhouse gas radiation effect (McLear & Lisa, pp. 49-52, 2008). In OPEC Conference held in 2007, the State Heads and the follow members of OPEC body highlighted on the significance of mitigation of the effect of global warming and attenuating its severity. The summit anticipated to put their efforts together in the cause against environmental change and the global warming. The summit iterated its extended back to sustainable growth and development of all countries across the globe and promised to maintain and carry on its help for the growing nations as to acquire its target i.e. the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (Emirates Bulletin - Emirates News Agency, pp. 66-70, 2007). An overview of the current status of the problem would help determining the fact that how the countries and organizations are meeting the challenge to mitigate the global warming. Looking at the broader picture as what is happeneing around the world, one may notice that the activities to attenuate the global warming are very diverse and uneven around the world. However, there obviously are the signs of progress. For instance, the United Kingdom has already achieved its target for reduction of carbon emission, promised and agreed in 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Moreover, its moving forward to even reach far beyond the target it has set for the year 2010. But the case of UK is just an exception among the other countries across the globe. Most of the countries in the European Union, Japan and the US are not even close to their Kyoto targets that were set long ago, instead of moving forward towards the greater goals and facing the new challenges. They are lagging behing the previous targets with no or little signs of development in regard to mitigate the effect of global warming. Coming to the developing countries, it is sad to notice that the rate of carbon content radiation emissions would accelerate by 1.5% under very optimistic conditions. This fact overshadows all the efforts that were put together in different summits and collborative organizations as practically these countries are going down the slope (Eileen Claussen et al, 2001, p. 83). European Union has always stood at the front while making policies, signing agreements, and writing petition when it comes to fight against the global warming for a better environment but practically there is not much development in this regard. The EU states tends to have confidence in renewable sources of energy, combination of different schemes for heat and power, economical taxes, volunteering for signing agreements with different industries, and other plans, or strategies to help decreasing the emitted carbon radiations. Taking other industrialized countries into view, one may see that they are as good as the countries of European Union in implementing the strategies and applying the policies that favor long-term reduction of carbon and its particles emissions. However, there is always the positive aspect in even the adverse circumstances. According to a report, despite of having the highest marginal cost among the other countries of the world in reducing the carbon content emissions, Japan is still very hopeful to meet its Kyoto target anytime sooner. Even in the United States of America where target is still a long way to go, there is a positive inclination not only on the public but on governmental level as well. There is an increased concern in spreading the research work, presenting better alternate solutions, deploying them, and implementing them as to avail more environmental friendly energy standards. There is another development quite significant in this regard is that many of the world’s largest companies have expressed their interests and initiated taking measures in this regard (Eileen Claussen et al, 2001, p. 84). The increased understanding and rising understanding does not implies that bringing the change is very easy; the determinations include political and economic consequences that are difficult to implement. A report predicts that it is the most difficult job for countries to accept the new change and embrace it with a smile, as they have to move on with utterly new schemes, plans, and policies. Taking developing countries into account, the biggest challenge faced by them is the deficiency of technical experts and choices for a sustainable environment. The environment friendly choices are usually the one having greater prices as well. While talking about the developed countries, issues challenging the sustainability and better environment are rather political and socio-cultural than the issues of technical options or setup costs. As changing the environment, to a better and cleaner one through the world involves huge sum of money (DiMento, 2003, p. 177). Many challenges arise in attempts to mitigate the disastrous effects of global warming; these challenges concern equally to the government and the private sectors. For an individual putting this threat to halt is a challenge that necessitates new thinking dimensions about global environmental issues and disposition to try the news ways and new things. Taking into the international scenario, there are various challenges that are stalling the propagation of mitigating the global warming throughout the world. The first important thing is the part that the government plays in the progress of a sustainable country’s built environment. For example, the pluralism in US government does not permit to take necessary actions and quick stands on problems that have multiple dimensions without the presence of any vivid and clear public authorization. The second challenge on the way of better environment is that fact that we sometimes ignore the worth and value of the future lying ahead of us. We are busy in the world of other things, that the environment and it’s protect appears to have very minute significance. We belong to the category where day-to-day assignments, deadlines and immediate schedules are more important than to something that would happen in our future. The other thing that governments are set up for a shorter period of time and there is a lot to do in that time that the more important thing deciding our future is often neglected. The basic needs always have high priority to that of the other not so basic requirements. National sovereignty is the prime concern of every government that develops policies and implements strategies on mitigating the effects of global warming at national and international levels. For example, despite of its active role, European Union is effete to agree upon the European Union-wide tax on the energy products. Even in United States, there is a heated debate on to give up or not give up the independence of the policy over an issue that has gained worldwide espousal. On the global level, the challenge that comes forward is that mitigating these issues requires united expertise and more collaborative skills from different potential groups around the world. There has to be an open platform for every brainiest idea bubbling in individual’s minds. This would take the world to the reality of a better, healthier, and greener earth environment. There is a far greater challenge lies in front of the industrial sector as a realization among industrial sector is badly needed that they play their parts as the leaders in mitigating global warming or the war for better environment. The responsibilities of industrial sector do not end after meeting different health, safety, and environmental standards. The challenge is to initiate and maintain a continuous process of brainstorming for substantial products and satisfying processes that can lead to the more environment friendly technologies (Eileen Claussen et al, pp. 98-99, 2001). References Clarkson, P & Malta, N. (2009). We must enable, not disable international collaboration, Public Service Review: Science and Technology, no. 4. DiMento, JF. (2003). The global environment and international law, University of Texas Press. Eileen Claussen, VACDPDPCOGCC, Claussen, E, Davis, D & Cochran, VA. (2001). Climate change: science, strategies, & solutions, BRILL. Emirates Bulletin - Emirates News Agency, W. (2007). The Riyadh Declaration, OPECs Third Summit, Saudi-US Relations Information Service. Houghton, JT. (2004). Global warming: the complete briefing, 3rd edn, Cambridge University Press. Jabbra, JG & Dwivedi, OP. (1998). Governmental response to environmental challenges in global perspective, IOS Press. Johansen, BE. (2002). The Global Warming Desk Reference, GreenWood Press, Westport, CT. Jones, L. (1997). Global warming: the science and the politics, The Fraser Institute. McLear, A & Lisa, P. (2008). 26 Global Leaders Sign Agreement to Partner on Climate Action. Springer. Oxlade, C. (2006). Global Warming- Our Planet in Peril, Capstone Press. Silverstein, A, Silverstein, VB & Silverstein, L. (2003). Global Warming, Twenty-First Century Books. Todd, S. (1997). Global challenges: an approach to environmental, polítical, and economic problems, Cambridge University Press. Valsson, T. (2006). “How the world will change with global warming.” How the World will Change. Springer. Williams, LO. (2002). An end to global warming, Gulf Professional Publishing. World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002, Department of Public Information - News and Media Services Division. New York, Johannesburg. Read More