The Effectiveness of International Agreements in Conducting Environmental Policies - Essay Example

School The Effectiveness of International Agreements in Conducting Environmental Policies Introduction The four leading environmental problems are climate change, depletion of the ozone layer, endangered species and hazardous wastes. The rise of such problems can be safely attributed to the advent of industrialization and the use of materials and chemicals which are found to be harmful to the environment. Science has been pivotal in ascertaining the nature of these problems and has also contributed much in outlining state policies, although it is without limitations and uncertainties. The partnership of science and public policy is indeed a marvelous force that could help shape the solution for these environmental concerns. In a while we will be discussing the details of these problems, with particular focus on the depletion of ozone layer, endangered species and hazardous wastes as described by science. One striking feature of these environmental problems is being global in nature. It does not merely cover one territory and cannot be entirely solved by an effort of one or few countries. Environmental science has coined the term, “transboundary” to refer to both environmental problems and solution which cross borders (David Humphreys 201). The term is specifically used for the environmental policy of protected areas, in which “a viable population of an endangered species, or provide sufficient land area for a vulnerable ecosystem, in a way that simply might not be possible by national level action alone” (David Humphreys). The global nature of the problem indeed calls for a global solution. The question that this paper wishes to answer is whether this global environmental problems can be solved effectively by international agreements. But before this, it would be fitting to ask if an international agreement is in the fist place possible. On the study of three environmental problems plus climate change, we will look at the definition of effectiveness of environmental policy to provide us with the standard of assessing current international policies. We will also need to take a look at how the problems are defined such as what exactly do the terms ‘depletion of ozone layer’, ‘endangered species’ and hazardous wastes mean. To arrive at the conclusion, we will have a close examination of the international agreements done so far and assess them carefully of indeed they have been effective. Lastly, we will assess the strengths and the constraints of international agreement on environmental policies. It is through the analysis of responses to these three potent environmental problems that we will be able to expound on the subject matter. Main Body What is an Effective Environmental Policy A Warming World, a book that tackles on the climate change issue and the policies adopted by the international community as a response. In the discussion of such environmental issue, the term “effective” was given clarity. In our analysis of which can be an effective environmental policy at least pertaining to depletion of ozone layer, endangered species and hazardous wastes, we will be relying on this definition. The term effectiveness connects two concepts: the aim and the outcome. It is inevitable to associate the term with the “desired outcome” (A. B. David Humphreys, 37). “A policy may be considered to be effective if it changes the behavior of actors in a desired direction, such as cutting emissions of greenhouse gases” (A. B. David Humphreys, 37). The term can actually have a weak or a strong meaning. The strength depends on the degree of behavioral change as a result of the policy. A weak definition involves behavioral changes which are minor and “insufficient to address the problem at hand” (A. B. David Humphreys, 37). On the other hand, the strong notion of effectiveness entails “fundamental shifts in behavior that produce the desired outcome that the policy was intended to realize” (A. B. David Humphreys, 37). Referring to environmental policies, “the desired outcome is often defined as an improvement in, or at least the maintenance of, environmental quality” although “environmental quality rarely responds straight away to environmental policies; there are often time lags between a policy being implemented and a discernible improvement in environmental quality” (A. B. David Humphreys, 37). These definition and considerations will be used in the analysis of each existing international agreements on environmental policies. The Current Environmental Problems As mentioned in the introduction, we will limit our discussion of environmental problems to three prevalent cases: depletion of ozone layer, endangered species and hazardous wastes. We will also include a discussion of the climate change issue as a model of international agreements. Depletion of the Ozone Layer The Problem. It was discovered in 1973 when two scientists were assessing the atmospheric impact of space rocket that chlorine atoms that come from fuel will have a “catalytic impact on ozone, each chlorine atom having the potential to destroy many thousands of ozone molecules’ however, given the few number of space rockets in the atmosphere, this magnitude of impact was discarded and regarded as not “environmentally significant” (Brown 277). It was only in 1974, when another two scientists were researching a “group of chemicals known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)” when a knowledge of about the hazardous effect of CFCs were discovered. It was found out that “CFC would remain in the atmosphere for many decades, eventually being broken down by the impact of solar radiation and releasing large quantities of chlorine into the stratosphere” (Brown 277 cited in Benedick 1991). The destruction of the ozone molecules in the atmosphere is crucial since is is this stratospheric ‘good’ ozone that “filters out a high proportion of incoming solar radiation, blocking all of the extremely hazardous UV-C radiation and between 70 and 90 per cent of UV-B radiation” (Brown 277). The absence of ozone molecules to filter UV-B and UV-C can cause “skin cancers and mutations in plant and animal cells” (Brown 276). Policy Responses.The international community reacted in an initial flurry over the concern about the ozone layer so that there was a call for a “unilateral banning of CFCs in aerosol cans” (Brown 279). It was the United States who led the action against inclusion of CFCs in production. “US calls for international action came up against opposition from the European Union (EU) (a major producer of CFCs), Japan (a major user of CFCs), and developing countries such as Brazil, China, India and Indonesia, all of whom had extensive plans for development of CFC production” (Brown 279 cited in Chasek). The direction changed in 1985, when the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer brought forth positive results. There was a unified effort to conduct further research and monitoring of the ozone and ‘the signatories agreed to negotiate binding targets on CFCs (Brown 279). Later, the twenty-four countries together with the European Union (formerly Commission of the European Community) came up with the Montreal protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Brown 278). “The Montreal Protocol committed the parties to reduce their production and use of CFCs by 50 per cent, to freeze halon production (another related group of ozone-depleting substances), and to set up a series of scientific assessment panels to undertake further work” (Brown 278 cited in UNEP Ozone Secretariat, 2006). The protocol also contains a set of trade sanctions on countries who fail to approve of the agreement and exhibit commitment on the other hand “the Protocol gave developing countries a ten-year grace period in which they could increase CFC production, before taking on their commitments to cut CFCs (Brown 278). This has made large impact in ther international community so that many countries were encouraged to join. The Impact and Strengths. The Montreal Protocol shows a story of unity among concerned countries. This unity and solidarity in conviction was seen by the others so that they were delighted to join. The achievement of the protocol was not without difficulty. “Towards the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, a number of issues remained unresolved: whether industrialized countries would meet their remaining phase-out targets, whether developing countries would meet their longer-term targets, whether new or existing ozone-depleting chemicals would be effectively tackled and whether illegal use and trade in ozone-depleting substances would be contained” (Brown 279). However, figures show that the international agreement was successful in addressing the environmental problem. The total production of CFCs worldwide decreased from more than 1 million tonned in 1986 to just 100,000 tonnes in 2002, revealing the effectiveness of “the ozone regime” which couls have otherwise increased to 3 million tonnes by 2010 (Brown 279). More importantly, scientists attest that “ozone-depleting substances in the lower atmosphere had peaked around 1992–94 and were also on a downward trend in the stratosphere”, predicting that the ozone layer will be completely restored (to pre-1980 levels) “by 2049 in mid latitudes and by 2065 over the Antarctic” (Brown 279). In terms os behavioral changes, the Montreal Protocol was a clear success. USA faced much opposition from the industrializing countries such as France, Italy, Japan, Brazil, India and Indonesia, but at in the end Europe showed a very strong support for the cause, particularly, “the Europeans moved from proposing a freeze on production to accepting a 20 per cent cut, to finally agreeing a ‘compromise’ 50 per cent cut offered by the USA” (Brown 283). Constraints. International policies are influenced by the existing international environmental politics. More often, this gives rise to problems of conflicting interests. This problem existed in the formulation of solution for the depletion of ozone problem. The book environmental issues and responses, explains that there are at least two lenses to view the mentioned environmental problem: the knowledge-based analytical lenses and the interest-based analytical lenses. There are basically two group of actors in the community that influence the decision of the government: the scientists who possess the knowledge and different interest-groups. We can safely say that an example of this interest groups are the manufacturers of CFCs on the issue of banning of this chemicals. There are ways in viewing the scientists in relation to the interest groups. One is that “the voice of scientists is interpreted simply as one among many domestic and transnational influences shaping state preferences” so that “they can be seen to sit alongside other political actors” (Brown 287). On ther other hand, the claim about epistemic communties assumes that “scientific knowledge has more power to redefine state interests than other actors’ interests” (Brown 284). The power of the knowledge-based analytical lense can thus be weighed depending on what kind of role the scientists possess in a certain society. The discussion on these two analytical lenses leads us to the political constraints faced by international environmental policies. Politics is involved in the decision making. Interest groups that ineterest groups can lobby so that policy-makers would vote for policies that do not help the environment but protect the welfare of these groups. This is one formidable foe of united international agreements on international policies. Another constraint faced by proponents of international polcies “has been what some see as a conflict between the priorities of economic growth and development and those of environmental protection” (Brown 288). A number of developing countries believe that they should not be burdened with global environmental concerns since they have to focus on achieving economic development. This to say that enviromental concerns should be shouldered solyly by the industrialized states (Brown 288). This argument is inevitably rooted from the belief that much of the environmental problems are brought by the industrilized countries and that it is through their emission of harmful chemicals and gasses that we suffer this. On the part of the industrialized countries, this is not a fair solution since argued that leaving developing countries out of the agreement would mean that while developed countries undertook the costs of phasing out CFCs, companies in the developing world would gain a competitive advantage and would be able to sell CFC-related products to consumers in the industrialized countries. The Endangered Species The Problem. The issue at hand is actually in relation to the problem of biodiversity. “Species have evolved and become extinct throughout the Earth’s history. Many species are lost before they have been identified” (J. F. David Humphreys 120 )There is no certainty on the background of extinction as the Earth’s history is indeed characterized by extinction followed by periods when new species came to existence (J. F. David Humphreys 120). What is certainly observed is “over the past 200 years, the rate of extinction of known species has increased, an increase that many scientists claim is largely the result of human activity” (J. F. David Humphreys 120). Policy Responses. Protection of endangered species were done both in the national and international level. A number of inernational agreements were started including the North pacific Fur Seal Treaty in 1911 which was between USA, Canada, Russia and Japan (Brown 296). “Colonial governments also sought to conserve species in ‘their’ overseas territories, for example, in the London Convention Designed to Ensure the Conservation of Various Species of Wild Animals in Africa (1900) and the London Convention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in their Natural State (1933)” (Brown 296). People have realized that this particular problem calls for an international cooperation since both living and dead animals and plants are traded legally and illegally among nations (Brown 297.). “In 1973, over eighty countries met in Washington, DC and over three weeks negotiated CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, 2008). Twenty-one countries initially signed the Convention and, following ratification by ten states, the Convention entered into force in July 1975. By 2008, there were over 170 member countries” (Brown 297). The CITES categorized the countries into three appendices: in the Appedix 1 belongs the countries with species threatened by extinction so that all commercial trade is prohibited while non-commercial transfers are subject to the inspection of Scientific Authorities coming from both the importing and the exporting countries, in Appendix 2 belongs species which are not threatened with extinction but “for which trade has to be controlled” and in which trade licenses are secured, and lastly in Appendix III are “species which are protected in at least one country and for which that country has asked for cooperation from others to assist in maintaining this protection” (Brown 297). The Impact and Strengths. CITES was obviously able to solicit a high degree of participation among members. The agreement however remains controversial for a lot of criticisms in the way it was conducted. We will therefore shirtly move to the constraints in upholding it. Constraints. The collective interest and action of the international community was marred by individual interests of the states. Some states may wish to continue trade of some species and come to very different evaluations about how endangered a species is, and whether curbing trade in the species is necessary (Brown 299). The states’ position also differ in terms of values why species should be conserved: “differences exist between those who argue for environmental capital to be preserved as it is, and those who argue that, so long as the total stock of capital (environmental, human and manufactured) is preserved, then we can have substitutability between these categories” (Brown 302). There was alaso a debate over the reason for preservation; there are those who focus on the instrumental value of the species, “that is, it is valued as a means to satisfy some other need or want, whether that be for food, clothing, medicine, sport or because as part of an ecosystem it allows another species to survive” while some believe that animals’ intrinsic value is enough reason for their conservation (Brown 302). These differences are influenced by different cultures and national values just as we have different views of nature. David Humphreys mentioned tha different ways people value the forest: whether an “economically rich source” of materials or a “spiritual and cultural recreation” (Audio 26). These different valuation of things result to different policies on maintaining resources, whether forests or endagered species. Hazardous Wastes The Problem. Hazardous wastes are the “unwanted by-products of production and consumption which can have serious negative environmental impacts, hazardous waste is therefore one kind of environmental ‘externality’ (Brown 305). The toxic dumping of large industrial companies reflect their profiteering motive in which thet opt for waste disposals that entails minimum costs eventhough the wastes are “offloaded onto others” (Brown 305). “Waste can be harmful to ecosystems through pollution of soils, water courses, air and food chains; it can damage human usage of environmental resources through pollution; it can be a threat to biodiversity; and it can cause direct or indirect effects on human health through transmission of toxins into the food chain or, as with toxic gases, through the air” (Brown 305). It is noted that most of the hazardous wastes come from industrialized countries which are often disposed of domestically (Brown 306). Most of the wastes are traded between industrialised countries as Eu legislation stipulates that “countries dispose of waste as close to its surce as possible” (Brown 306 cited in Blowers 165-6). The capacity of the industralised countries to accommodate their own wastes is limited so that their governments enacted stricter domestic regulations, mainly prompted by NGOs and this has increased the “importance of international waste trade, especially to countries in the developing world which had more lax environmental regulations” (Brown 306). “During the 1980s, at a time when many developing countries were suffering from low economic growth, the consequences of debt repayments and a shortage of foreign exchange earnings, there was a considerable incentive to earn substantial payments in return for allowing the dumping of hazardous waste on their territory. The international politics of hazardous waste have centered around the economic and equity issues concerning such trade” (Brown 306). Policy Responses. The increased importation of wastes to developing countries awaken the need to prusue an international cooperation for the protection of environment agasint hazardous wastes. A total three conventions sprang out of the countries’ negotiations. The three convention was preceded by a Code formulated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This was came to be known as the Cairo Guidelines which gave birth to a system whereby the hazardous wastes trade only occurred with the explicit consent of the expoting and the importing countries and “verification that the importing state had the institutional and technical wherewithal to handle the waste in a safe manner” (Brown 307). The first if these conventions is the Basel Convention on Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, which “stipulated that trade in hazardous wastes would be illegal to countries with less advanced storage and disposal facilities unless the importing country was provided with detailed information on the shipment and gave its consent to the shipment” (Brown 307). The convention was limited by the inability to define which substances are considered hazardous and the failure to include sanctions on illegal importing of wastes (Brown 307). This gave birth to the Bamako Convention on the Ban on the Import Into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes Within Africa in 1998 which basically banned the importation of all hazardous wastes in African countries who are signatories in the convention (Brown 308). This convention was basically formed by African countries, therefore a necessary improvement to it would be the inclusion of some imposting countries such as the European Union. This gave birth to the Lome Convention which is a development cooperation with the EU. When this expired, the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement was signed which “stated that cooperation would aim at ‘taking into account issues relating to the transport and disposal of hazardous waste” instead of completely banning it (Brown 309). The Impact and Strengths. There were successes brought by the convetion. One is the legitimacy of any waste disposal in exporting countries which obviously compensated them monetarily. Agreements on the environment also helped developed some of the economic agreements that Africa now has with the European union. These things however does not fully resolve the problem of hazardouz wastes as some of the stronger provisions of the Lome Conventions such as complete banning of waste disposal were totally discarded (Brown 310). Constraints.One of the pertinent issues on hazardous waste is the debate between allowing a regulated trade of hazardous waste or banning it completely (Brown 311). An issue of international justie is at hand in anwering this question. At first, the developing countries such as Africa were willing to accept the wastes and the costs sine it meant being able to cut down on their debts. The monetary valuation attached to the waste made an attractive deal to the poor developing countries. It is however the life of many people and species that are at risk with this practice. The morality and legitimacy of the trade of hazardous waste is the question. Conclusion and Recommendation International Environmental Law The conflicts that arise from established international environmental agreements are not only confined to these three environmental problems. Some transboundary environmental disputes includes the conflict over the Danube Delta, “one of the largest wetlands in the world” (Video 20). On the dispute between Romania and Ukraine, “Ukraine has been found to have been non-compliant to no less than eleven conventions that were governing the Danube Delta and what can be done regarding environmental protection in the Danube Delta” (Audio 25). This dispute reveals the importance of international environmental law. The international law on environment is a worthy development to keep countries committed to the agreements. Environmental law are seen to perform two functions: “protective functions involving setting standards and providing guiding principles” and “enforcement function involving actions in response to acts tha violate environmental law” (Walters 323). The international law on environmental policies therefore is very essential if we wish to pursue international agreements. Self-Enforcing Agreements With the aid of two case studies, we will be examining ways on how to effectively conduct global environmental management. Inspired by the need to control carbon gas emission, Kazuharu Kiyono and Masahiro Okuno-Fujiwara, examined the strategic international agreements on global environment management. The authors recognize that there are “conflicting views on how to tackle” environmental problems such as “global warming” (Kazuharu Kiyono 1). Using the field of economics in a two-period two-country model, the study aimed to know the “factors” that “we should consider when another international agreement for global environmental controls is in sight” (Kazuharu Kiyono 1). Specifically, the paper argued that countries are not willing to invest in controlling environmental destruction because they anticipate several future agreements that will cover the present one and that “doing so only deteriorates the country’s future bargaining position” (Kazuharu Kiyono 2). In conclusion the study found out that the incentives for ex ante investment critically depends on whether international negotiation is anticipated with or without transfers. Since the creation of an international market for tradable emission permits requires a certain allocation of initial permits among countries, emissions trading involves international transfers of income” and that “the feasibility of such a trading system as a global environmental management strategy affects the ex-ante abatement investment of each country” (Kazuharu Kiyono 27). The Ability to Enforce the Contract int eh National and Local Levels The European Union believes that most of the environmental problems are trandboundary and global so that the effective solution is an international cooperation (European Commission). However, on the national level, strong effor should also be seen. Taking the case of Botswana, Desire Rubadini tells how the failure of a country to develop and enforece national legislation and execute treaties can derail the success of multilateral agreements (Rubadini 239). The country established the National Conservation Strategy Agency but it lacks firm “political and legislative foundation” which makes it difficult to enact policies and solicit compliance (Rubadini 241). This problem is common in developing countries wherein governments are weak to carry out policies. This is one of the areas where international agreement may fail. Therefore, it is highly recommended that countries strengthen their political and legislative capacity when joining international agreements. The above discussion tells of the many ways how to make internatioal agreements successful: an established international environmental agreement, a self-enforcing contracts which adheres to the individual interests of the states and a strong national political and legislative capacity. Over-all, while it is true that international agreements on environmental policies are difficult to achieve, it is also a sad reality that it is the only way in solving transboundary and global environmental problems. There is just no easy way out of this problem tand countries must believe in this before it becomes too difficult to solve. References "Audio 25." n.d. "Audio 26." n.d. Brown, William. "Analysing International Environmental Agreements: Ozone depletion, endangered species and hazardous waste." Environmental Issues and Responses. Ed. Claudia Aradau, Jessica Budds William Brown. n.d. David Humphreys, Andrew Blowers. "Climate Change: An introduction to a Heated Debate." A Warming World. n.d. 19. David Humphreys, Juliet Fall. "An idea of nature: biodiversity and protected areas." Environmental Issues and Responses. Ed. Claudia Aradau, Jessica Budds William Brown. n.d. European Commission. http://ec.europa.eu. 16 April 2010 . Kazuharu Kiyono, Masahiro Okuno-Fujiwara. May 2004. 16 April 2010 . Rubadini, Desire. http://www.inece.org. 16 April 2010 . "Video 20." n.d. Walters, Reece. "Environmental law and environmental crime." Environmental Issues and Responses. Ed. Claudia Aradau, Jessica Budds William Brown. n.d. Read More