Public Policy & Government Regulation in Global Management - Research Paper Example

 Public Policy & Government Regulation in Global Management Introduction Effect of global warming on the climate is unequivocal. The lethal affects of global warming has been a hot topic for the past year or so. However, it is to be reminded that global warming has occurred primarily due to the emission of human induced heat taping gases, better known as the green house gases. The primary reasons for the emissions of such gases are the excessive burning of fossil fuels, clearing of forests, etc. The average global temperature since the year 1900 has gone up by 1.5 F. If emissions continue to rise at the current rate temperature increases are likely to be close to the upper level range. Therefore it is of extreme importance for a collective and cohesive effort on the part of the government and public bodies as well as the multinational corporations to reduce the ever growing threats of global warming. The present study looks to focus on the impact of global warming on government, state bodies and the multinational corporations. Also the role of the government, state bodies and the multinational corporations to reduce global warming has been analyzed. Add to those probable policies that can be adopted by the MNCs to reduce global warming has also been discussed during the course of the study. Impact of Global Warming on Government In order to pragmatically analyze the affects of global warming; the impacts of the proposed topic has been considered with respect to various government resources which includes water resources, energy supply and use, transportation, Agriculture, Ecosystems, human health a society has been considered. Water Resources `Changes in the levels of water cycle has been consistent with the warnings in the key areas including changes in the pattern of precipitations, changes in the rate of drought, melting of snow, increased number of water temperatures, changes in soil moisture, etc. A part from these, changes in the water cycle also affects other sectors. Energy Resources Energy is the heart of global warming. The production of electricity using fossil fuel is one of the prime reasons for the increase in global temperature. Global warming is likely to lead to a fall in demand for the hitting energy and increase the demand for cooling energy. The production of energy is likely to be halted by the increasing temperatures and shortage of water supply. Energy production and distribution systems may get exposed to the rise in sea levels. Climate changes can affect some renewable energy resources in the nation. Transportation Sea Level rise as well as storms would increase the risk of major impacts. Flooding resulting from the increasing down pour would increase the risk of disruptions and delay in rail, air and road transportation. The rise in heat might limit transportation operation and lead too pavement and truck damage. Agriculture Some corps show good responses to lofty carbon dioxide and low levels of warming. Extreme circumstances such as drought and downpour would reduce crop yields. Also diseases, pets and insects get benefited from warming. Ecosystems Global warming has affected the factors that control the decomposition and growth. Vast amounts of shift have been seen in the timing of animal migration. Deserts and dry-lands are likely to become a lot drier and hotter. Human Health Global warming has increase risk of deaths and illness due to the extreme heat. Global warming would make it more challenging for the health authorities to meet the air quality standards. Children and old are likely to be most vulnerable to the changes in climate. Impact of Global Warming on State Since 1970 the average temperature in the north-east has gone up by 2 degree Fahrenheit; winter temperatures has increased by 2 degree Fahrenheit which twice this much. Warming has led to many other changes such as frequent days with the temperatures over 90 degrees; longer seasons of growing; increased level of precipitations; decreased snow-packs; increased surface and sea level temperatures. The climate in the south –east is typically wet and warm commented by mild winters. But since 1970, the yearly regular temperature has risen by about two degree Fahrenheit with rise in temperature in the winter being the greatest. Also the counts of freezing days fell by at least three to seven days. In the Mid west the climate is wrought by the presence of the Great Lakes. However, in the recent decades the mid-west has seen noticeable increase in the average temperatures. Again like the other two regions mentioned above the largest increase has been in the winters. In the last fifteen years the region has witnessed two major floods. There also has been a dip in the ice level of lake. Since the 1980, the heat waves have become more frequent than ever. The South West is getting exposed to the threat of future drought as water supplies are becoming scarcer due to the increasing heat. The northwest region has witnessed high levels of population growth as well as de-forestation due to human induced activities has had major impact on the climate. Since the 1980, the average regional temperature has increased by 1.5°F. Some areas have experienced changes up to 4°F. The effects of climate change have been severe on Alaska. Over the last fifty years or so the region has witnessed a rise in temperature at a rate which is twice than that of the rest of the country. The annual temperature has increased by 3.4°F, while the winters have got warmed even more by 6.3°F. Warmer temperatures have already resulted in snow melts and decrease in the ice level at sea, glacier retreat as well as in permafrost warming. Impact of Global Warming on MNCs Global Warming and rapid climate change is affecting the business practices of multinational organizations. There are several key impacts of global warming and climate change that can affect the business operation of the MNCs. Civil Unrest The civilization is going to be unhappy. They will protest and demonstrate if the environmental situation goes bad by the business practices of MNCs. Finally they can deny purchasing the goods and services of that company. Government Action If the business practices causes the growth of carbon and green house gas emission, then government of country might be engaged with this use. As a result, government can strictly regulate the business practices of MNCs. It will affect the sustainability of that firm. Open trade route Melted arctic can offer an open trade route from Asia to the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, it can allow the MNCs lesser transit route. Moreover, it will save significant amount of energy. Wet and Dry Water is the major vector through which global warming and climate change can make its presence. Furnace atmosphere has the possibility to hold more water. This participation pattern can dramatically change the temperature of climate. Uncertainty Business operation should become more agile and strategic with several contingency plans in order to sustain the business against the uncertainty. Risks and uncertainties are the different sides of a coin. The new normal business period is quite uncertainty. If the certainty regarding the business environment regulatory does not come soon, supply chain and energy usage risk can be raised. Role of Government Based on the above reports it could be pretty safe to say that global warming is a reality and is a serious problem. There have been many debates over the role of the government over the issue. There have been many proposals some which has been rejected by the government due to feasibility issues. However, one thing is for certain that the government plays a major role in reducing the affects of global warming by reducing the emission of green house gases (Archer, 2011). The government may decide to the eradicate subsidies for the use of fossil fuel. Subsidies for the energy development and research and production, marketing and transportation actually increase greater use of energy and increases emission levels. Regulatory delays may insert substantiality to cost of nuclear power. This happens to be the only proven technology that provides reliability in the emission of free energy and decreases the emission of green house gases. Reduction of the wildfires with the help of alternative forest management institutions can also be used. Private and local forest management would decrease the chances of over- crowding as well as the chances of poor management of national forests. This would increase the ability of the trees to soak up carbon and reduce wild fire. The government can also think about liberalizing the proposal of biotechnology. By using biotechnology the government cab make growing varieties of trees that can soak up and store large amount of CO2. The same biotechnology can also be used develop crops that are drought resistant in nature and adjust to climate changes. Subsidy in flood insurance is mainly responsible for the development in the coastal areas. Hence elimination of subsidy would make the people less vulnerable to the high sea levels and would result in increased rain fall. Increase in the use of toll roads can decrease traffic delays and reduce emission. Removing the older cars can also lead to reduction of carbon emission. Reformation in the air traffic rules and allowing the pilots to fly through direct routes may reduce delays and save fuel. Role of States In order to analyze the role of the state in the reduction of global warming the methods adopted by the state of Oregon belonging to the North West Region of the county has been used. The role played by the government of the government include integration of actions on a long term perspective (as long as 45 years); increasing energy efficiency to reduce emissions. This would need the people of the state to use energy more efficiently; Use of renewable resources in the production of energy to reduce the burning of fossil fuel; Transportation actions which includes removing old cars and use of toll roads; use of biological confiscation to alleviate green house gases and recovery and appropriate disposal of waste. Role of MNCs The cause of global warming and climate change in the environment are human made. The green house gas emission will continue to increase under the path of Business-As-Usual. It will dramatically increase the risks of irreversible and serious impacts on the environment. Along with the impact on the global environment, the global warming and climate change has also a huge impact on the global economy. It is evidenced that, the large and metro cities around the world are responsible for more than 75% of global green house gas emission due to the business practices of the MNCs. But, it is true that some of the multinational organizations are adapting the role to mitigate the effects of climate change in urban areas. Based on Social-Ecological system model this part has highlighted the role of MNCs in order to mitigate the effect of climate change. MNCs located in New York are supporting the plan of sustainable development for the New York City in the next decades. According to this plan, the MNCs located in the city are targeting to reduce the emission by 30% within 2030. According to the plan, all the sample organizations have constructed environmental sustainability initiative to reduce the emission of green house gas. Moreover, it is evidenced that, the city Chicago has established close connection with the corporate sector of the city similar to the New York City plan. The corporate sector of Chicago has involved the MNCs located within the city at an early stage in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. Therefore it is feasible that, the MNCs in New York and Chicago have done planning to mitigate the effects. The key motivation factor behind the involvement of MNCs in the planning to reduce the green house gas emission is corporate reputation, energy savings and cost efficiency. Policies There are several MNCs and Government policies have been established in order to mitigate the effects. The policies are listed below. All the fuel use subsidies should be eliminated. Regulatory barrier with respect to nuclear power plants and innovation should be reduced. The wildfires should be reduced through the forest management institution. Biotechnology approvals should be liberalized. Flood insurance program should be repealed nationally. Usage of toll roads should be increased and older cars and other vehicles should be removed from road. The ATC system should be reformed. New technological breakthrough should be encouraged. The corporate hubs have influence MNCs to reduce the emission level of carbon in their production and supply chain network. Number of MNCs has been engaged with the government of the operating countries through strategic allowances. Pros and Cons There are several pros and cons of these policies that are underlined below. Pros Subsidies for the energy development and research, transportation, production, consumption of energy and marketing may encourage the greater usage of energy and can reduce the green house gas emission level. Regulatory delay may add the considerably to the nuclear power cost. It is the only certified and proven technology that introduce huge amount of emission free energy. Private and local forest management can reduce the disease and over-crowding in meagerly managed national forests. It can significantly increase the ability to absorb carbon of trees. Moreover, it will help to reduce the wildfires. Through biotechnology the trees can take up and stockpile large amount of CO2. Subsidized flood insurance is required for the flood plain and coastal area’s development. Increasing usage of toll roads and lanes will help to reduce the traffic delays that will directly and indirectly help to reduce the green house gas emission that is increasing due to the daily busy traffic. Government should subsidize to remove the older vehicles by the new one can reduce the emission and increase the fuel efficiency. The aircrafts should be regulated to fly in the direct routes rather than the long holding patterns. It would reduce the aircraft emission and runway delays. Development of the electric power in the transportation system will help to reduce the carbon emission and will help to meet with the future energy demands. Various multinational firms have started to control the emission level of their supply chain network. The flexibility of the environment policies planned and introduced by the MNCs has induced the organizations to communicate with the global suppliers regarding the business sustainability and environmental issues. The sustainability and environmental consciousness in the supply chain has increased the reputation of firms in global market place (Dunn, 2002). Moreover, several CSR activities and approach towards the reduction of carbon emission can sustain the business of the firms in near future. Cons The substitute resources of oil and gas energy cannot be available sufficiently. Government has to spend lot of time and capital to introduce the substitute energy resources. The implementation of these environmental policies by the MNCs and government only can reduce the emission level, but it is not possible to remove climate change and global warming from the environment aspect. The policy like limit the legal barrier for the nuclear power plant can affect the life of birds and other animals. It is not a god sustainable policy. Introducing new toll roads is not cost and time effective. Moreover, the government and MNCs should aware people about the policies as it is impossible for all the communities and individual about the new policies. An awareness program should be initiated in terms of global community which is beyond imaginary. Providing subsidies for the replacement of older vehicles is a matter of huge capital. The people of country also may face harassment as they did not face this kind of situation earlier. Therefore, it will be tricky enough to implement this policy. Implementation of green strategies by the MNCs is not cost effective. In order to reduce the emission of carbon the organizations need to invest huge capital that can hamper the financial stability of firm. Conclusion Global warming is one of the hot discussing topics in today’s world. It is evidenced that the multinational firms, society, economy of a country, government and other external environmental element of a country can be hugely affected by this growing global warming and climate change (Peach, 2005). The multinational organizations from the past years are trying to maximize their business profit without concerned about this factor. Now the emission level has increased hugely that are creating several problem to the health of human and environment. Looking into these factors MNCs and Governments around the world has implemented several policies to reduce the effect of climate change and emission level. MNCs are implementing green marketing and production strategy to reduce the emission level. CSR activities of the firms are the examples of these kinds of activities. It will help them to sustain their business in near future. On the other hand government is trying to implement new policies to create a clean world to live in. It is a serious issue and it need to be solved for the benefit of global mankind. Reference Archer, D. (2011). Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Dunn, S. (2002). Down to Business on Climate. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Peach, J. (2005). Global Warming: Emission Reductions Possible as Scientific Uncertainties are Resolved. Washington: DIANE. Read More