R. Shanthini 18 Feb 2013 “The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the...

R. Shanthini 18 Feb 2013

“The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over

the entire surface of the globe.”- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels [1848]

The Communist Manifesto

CP551 Sustainable Development

“Environmentalism as a norm has become truly global, but so has mass consumerism.”

- A. Najam, D. Runnalls and M. Halle [2007] Environment and Globalization: Five Propositions


Module 9:

Globalization and its impact on

Sustainable Development.

R. Shanthini 18 Feb 2013 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization

What is Globalization?

What is Globalization?What is Globalization?


as Internationalization:

as Liberalization:

as Universalization:

as Westernization/ modernization:

as Deterritorialization:

Source: Scholte, J.A., 2000. Globalization: A Critical Introduction.

Globalization Cross-border relations between countries

Removing government imposed restrictions on movements between countries.

Spread of ideas and experiences across the globe so that aspirations and experiences around the world become harmonized.

Global spread of the social structures of modernity (capitalism, industrialism, etc.).

Social space overcoming territorial places, territorial distances and territorial borders.


Four key dimensions of economic globalization involve the flows across national boundaries of:

- goods & services

- financial capital (FDI)

- labor (human migration and otherwise)

- technology & knowledge

Source: http://www.darkseptemberrain.com/ideas/advantages.htm

Globalization of the EconomyGlobalization of the Economy


Increased free trade between nations.

Investors in developed nations investing in developing nations.

Corporations have greater flexibility to operate across borders.

Opportunities have increased so is competition.


Globalization of the Economy Globalization of the Economy - - positivespositives


Increased flow of skilled and non-skilled jobs to outsiders as corporations seek out the cheapest labour.

Increased likelihood of economic disruptions in one nation effecting all nations.

Corporate influence far exceeds that of civil society organizations and average individuals.

Threat that control of world media by a handful of corporations will limit cultural expressions.


Globalization of the Economy Globalization of the Economy - - negativesnegatives



Globalization of the Economy Globalization of the Economy – – negatives cont.negatives cont.

Spread of materialistic lifestyle and attitude that sees consumption as the path to prosperity.

International bodies like the World Trade Organization (WTO) infringe in national and individual sovereignty.

Increase in the chances of wars for limited resources.

Decreases in environmental integrity as polluting corporations take advantage of weak regulatory rules in developing countries.




Multi National Corporations (MNCs) commodify, commercialize, & exploit all sources of profit.

For example, since 1990, six water utility firms won contracts to privatize public waterworks affecting 300M people in 56 countries.

These MNCs – Bechtel (U.S.), Suez, Vivendi Environnement, Saur (France), United Utilities (UK), Thames Water (Germany) – claim to be more efficient in providing cheaper, clean water than often-corrupt public utility companies.



Working with the World Bank, water barons lobby governments, trade & standards INGOs to change municipal and trade laws.

By 2020 these firms may monopolize 67% of current public water.

“Critics say they are predatory capitalists that ultimately plan to control the world’s water resources and drive up prices even as the gap between rich and poor widens. The fear is that accountability will vanish, and the world will lose control of its source of life.”

(Center for Public Integrity: www.icij.org)



Pro-globalization lobby argues that globalization brings about increased opportunities for almost everyone, and increased competition is a good thing since it makes agents of production more efficient.

Two most prominent pro-globalization organizations:

- World Trade Organization (WTO)

- World Economic Forum

Source: http://www.investorwords.com/2182/globalization.html

Globalization of the Economy Globalization of the Economy contd.


Anti-globalization lobby argues that increased competitive pressure does not benefit certain groups of people (who are deprived of resources, for example). New opportunities have not been created for all.

Globalization has put pressures on the global environment and on natural resources.

It can also enhance global inequities.

and http://www.investorwords.com/2182/globalization.html

Sources: A. Najam, D. Runnalls and M. Halle (IISD) 2007 Environment and Globalization: Five Propositions



Important anti-globalization organizations:

- Friends of the Earth

- Greenpeace

- Oxfam

- G77 (third world government organizations)

- European Farm Lobby (and other business organizations and trade unions whose competitiveness is threatened by globalization)

- Australian and U.S. trade union movements

Source: http://www.investorwords.com/2182/globalization.html



India in 2009

Anti-Globalization Demonstration(continued)


Hong Kong in 2005



Montreal, Canada in 2003


http://www.witiger.com/internationalbusiness/scan~WTO~protest2003.jpg


Doha in 2001



Anti-Globalization Violence

Seattle, USA in 1999


What’s wrong with WTO?

WTO ruled against in 2011 against U.S. “dolphin-safe” tuna labels, a U.S. ban on clove, candy and cola flavored cigarettes, and the highly popular U.S. consumer policy, country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for meat cuts and products.

See the handout for top reasons to oppose WTO….

And, see WTO’s responses to the above in http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min99_e/english/misinf_e/00list_e.htm


Globalization of KnowledgeAs economies open up, information, culture, ideology and

technology spreads across the globe.

New technologies can solve old problems, but they can also create new ones.

Technologies of environmental care can move across boundaries quicker,

but so can technologies of environmental extraction.

Information flows can connect workers and citizens across boundaries and oceans (e.g., the rise of global social

movements as well as of outsourcing), but they can also threaten social and economic networks at the

local level.

Source: A. Najam, D. Runnalls and M. Halle (IISD) 2007 Environment and Globalization: Five Propositions

R. Shanthini 18 Feb 2013 Source: http://www.offshoringmanagement.com/BlinderOffshoring.htm


Globalization of Governance

Globalization places great stress on existing patterns of global governance; the expanding role of non-state actors; and the

increasingly complex inter-state interactions.

The global nature of the environment demands global environmental governance.

But many of today’s global environmental problems have outgrown the governance systems designed to solve them.




Globalisation of Sri Lanka

by Dr. S. Colombage


Let’s take a look at how globalization assists in combating global warming.

Global warming is said to have caused by greenhouse gases (GHG).

GHGs are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared

range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas#cite_note-0


The Greenhouse effectA T M O S P H E R E

S U N


The main GHGs in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane,

nitrous oxide, and ozone.

Without GHGs, Earth's surface would be on average about 33°C colder than at present.


Rise in the concentration of four GHGs


Global Warming Potential (GWP) of different GHGs


The burning of fossil fuels, land use change and other industrial activities since the Industrial revolution have increased the GHGs in the atmosphere to such a level that the earth’s surface is heating up to temperatures that are very destructive to life on earth.


Time taken to reach equilibrium after the emissions peak

CO2 emissions

CO2 stabilization takes 100 to 300 years

Temperature stabilization takes a few centuries

Sea level rise due to thermal expansion takes centuries to millennia

Sea level rise due to ice melting takes several millennia

CO2 emissions peak 0 to 100 years

Today 100 years 1000 years

Magnitude of response


United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC)

Kyoto Protocol

So there was an urgent need for global action to reduce GHGs.

One global treaty

Another global treaty


United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

UNFCCC sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed

by climate change.

It recognizes that the climate system is a shared resource whose stability can be affected by industrial

and other emissions of carbon dioxide and other GHGs.

The objective of the treaty is to stabilize GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the

climate system.

Source: http://unfccc.int/essential_background/convention/items/2627.php



Under the Convention, governments:

- gather and share information on GHG emissions, national policies and best practices

- launch national strategies for addressing GHG emissions and adapting to expected impacts, including the provision of financial and technological support to developing countries

- cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the impacts of climate change

Source: http://unfccc.int/essential_background/convention/items/2627.php



May 09, 1992: The Convention was adopted at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.

June 1992 – June 1993: It was open for signature at the Earth Summit (held in Rio de Janeiro) and thereafter at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.

March 21, 1994: The Convention entered into force.

Source: http://unfccc.int/essential_background/convention/status_of_ratification/items/2631.php

Currently, there are 194 Parties (193 States and 1 regional economic integration organization) to the UNFCCC.


Kyoto ProtocolThe Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the UNFCCC, and it is adopted at third Conference of Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997.

The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouraged industrialised countries to stabilize GHG emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so.

Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.”

Source: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php


Dec 11, 1997: The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan.

Feb 16, 2005: Protocol entered into force.

Kyoto Protocol


The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for Annex I parties for reducing the emissions of the following GHGs: - Carbon dioxide (CO2) - Methane (CH4)

- Nitrous oxide (N2O) - Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)

- Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) group of gases - Perfluorocarbon (PFC) group of gases

The binding targets of Annex 1 parties amount to a total of 5.2% below that of 1990 levels over 2008-2012.


Kyoto Protocol


Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Rep. Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, UK, USA

Annex 1 parties to Kyoto Protocol

Countries with economies in transition to a market economy. Annex II countries which is a subgroup of Annex 1 countries.USA has no intention to ratify the Protocol.


Emission trend of Annex 1 parties in 2005

Decreased emissions(1990 baseline)

Increased emissions(1990 baseline)


USA, which was expected to cut the emissions 7% below the 1990 level, has no intention to ratify the Protocol.

Since USA, which roughly contributes a quarter of the world’s GHGs, has not ratified the Protocol and since a number of parties to the Protocol has not so far met their Protocol emissions target, the success of the Kyoto Protocol is questionable.

Kyoto Protocol


Under the Treaty, countries must meet their targets primarily through national measures.

However, the Kyoto Protocol offers them an additional means of meeting their targets by way of three market-

based mechanisms, which are the following:

Emissions trading (ET), known as “the carbon market" Clean development mechanism (CDM)

Joint implementation (JI)

The mechanisms help stimulate green investment and help Parties meet their emission targets in a cost-effective way.

The Kyoto Mechanisms



The Kyoto Mechanisms


ET - Emissions TradingAAU (Assigned Amount Units) are exchanged between Annex I countries

JI - Joint ImplementationAnnex I investors receive ERUs (Emission Reduction Units) by investing in a project in another Annex I nation which reduces GHG emissions

CDM - Clean Development MechanismAnnex I investors receive CERs (Certified Emission Reductions) by investing in a project in a non-Annex I nation which reduces GHG emissions


Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

Source: http://www.bellona.org/factsheets/1191918665.67

CDM is a mechanism to ensure that Annex I countries can meet their emission reduction target in a cost effective way by financing GHG emission reduction in developing countries.

If an Annex I country finance an emission reduction project in a Non-Annex I country, the project participants will be granted ”Certified Emission Reductions” (CERs), also called carbon credits.

The number of CERs granted reflects the emission reduction; an emission reduction equal to one metric ton of CO2 gives one CER.

The CERs are tradable, and they can be used to supplement national GHG emission reductions.




Annex I countries can not base all their emission reductions on CERs.

The European Trading System (ETS) limits emission reductions covered by CERs to 10 to 30 percents; the rest

must be real emission reductions in the home country.

There are two reasons for this limit; (1) to ensure that there are not too many CERs on the market and (2) to ensure that Annex I countries do not base all their emission reduction on

buying CERs without reducing emissions at home.

Only projects that contribute to sustainable development in developing countries are accepted as CDM projects.




Only projects that would not have taken place without the CDM will be accepted as a CDM projects, and this is referred to as the Additionality criteria. An example of additionality is a wind power project that is not profitable without the CDM, but with the added value of CERs it will be profitable.

A financial and/or technical analysis has to be performed to document additionality. The analysis has to highlight all reasons why the project would not happen without the CDM, and all technical, legal and infrastructural barriers must be described.




The idea behind additionality is to ensure that CDM projects results in real emission reductions that would not have happened in a business-as-usual scenario.

Another prerequisite for CDM projects is that there exists a recognised method for calculating emission reduction. This is referred to as the Methodology criteria.

Finally, CDM projects must also meet the host country’s criteria for sustainable development.




The complicated framework for registration of CDM projects has lead to criticism because several sustainable projects find the cost of CDM registration as a main barrier for the project.

As an example, several smaller solar energy projects in developing countries have not taken place because of an expensive and complicated process of CDM registration.

However, a new procedure called Programmatic CDM will reduce this barrier because it allows similar projects to be evaluated in one common process instead of several individual processes.

Another problem is that many potential CDM projects do not apply for CDM status due to lack of knowledge about the CDM registration process.




CDM projects include energy efficiency, renewable energy production, methane emission reduction, and fuel switch projects.

There are CDM projects within several industrial sectors including power production; steel, cement and paper plants; renewable energy; forestation; hydropower; and biomass.

Some projects are controversial, like large water dam projects for hydropower and HFC23 projects (HFC23 is a GHG with a global warming potential 11.700 times higher than CO2). The HFC23 projects have so far been extremely profitable, and it is therefore discussed to exclude HFC23 projects from the CDM.




There are large commercial risks due to the uncertainty of future CERs prices, since Kyoto protocol expires in 2012 and it is highly uncertain what happens with CDM post Kyoto.

R. Shanthini 18 Feb 2013 Source: http://www.bellona.org/factsheets/1191918665.67

There is a common international understanding that there is a need for a

mechanism like CDM also beyond 2012, but one challenge is to establish a mechanism

that all countries can agree on, including the U.S. and other countries that have not

ratified the Kyoto protocol.

The world failed to reach any such global agreement in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the 15th Conference of

Parties to the UNFCCC (COP15) on Dec 19, 2009.


16th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP16) was the main climate change

conference of the year held in Cancun, Mexico

from November 29 to December 10, 2010.

Source: http://www.justmeans.com/COP15-is-over-when-is-COP16/10292.html


The outcome of the summit was an agreement, not a binding treaty, which calls on rich countries to reduce

their greenhouse gas emissions as pledged in the Copenhagen Accord, and for developing countries to plan to reduce their emissions, to limit global warming

to less than 2 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels. The agreement includes a proposed $100

billion a year fund to assist poorer countries finance emission reductions and adaptation.


The New York Times described the agreement as follows:

"major step forward" - given that international negotiations had stumbled in recent years

"fairly modest" - as it did not require the changes that scientists say are needed to avoid dangerous climate change.

how the proposed climate fund will be financed is not specified.

The legal form of and the level of emission reductions required were deferred for other meetings.

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