Global environmental policies and agreements

Understanding Global Environmental Policies and Agreements

  • Global environmental policies are global-level rules, regulations, and procedures that address environmental issues, developed and agreed upon by multiple nations.
  • They aim to contain and reduce negative human impacts on the global environment.
  • Environmental treaties or agreements are binding commitments made by nations to act in a certain way or endeavour towards certain outcomes related to the environment.
  • Some of the key global environmental policies and agreements include the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Montreal Protocol.

Understanding the Kyoto Protocol

  • The Kyoto Protocol was an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that legally binds developed nations to emission reduction targets.
  • It took effect in 2005 and covers the six main greenhouse gases.
  • Under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities”, it recognises that developed countries are mainly responsible for high levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.

Understanding the Paris Agreement

  • The Paris Agreement is an international treaty negotiated by the UNFCCC and in force since 2016.
  • It aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and attempts to limit temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
  • It also aims to increase countries’ capacity to deal with the impacts of climate change and to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions and removals by second half of this century.

Understanding the Convention on Biological Diversity

  • The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international agreement established by the United Nations in 1992.
  • It has three main goals: conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources.
  • It recognises that biodiversity is more than plants, animals and microorganisms and their ecosystems – it’s about people and our need for food security, medicines, fresh air and water, shelter and a clean and healthy environment.

Understanding the Montreal Protocol

  • The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was agreed in 1987.
  • Its purpose is to protect the stratospheric ozone layer by phasing out the production of ozone-depleting substances.
  • The treaty was strengthened in 1990 and 1992 with the London and Copenhagen amendments, which aimed to speed up the phasing out of CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) and other ozone-depleting substances.

Challenges and Controversies

  • Global environmental policies and agreements face several challenges, including different economic interests, enforcement and monitoring difficulties, and imbalances in power dynamics.
  • Compliance is often voluntary, and there are few mechanisms to enforce adherence or punish non-compliance, making the effectiveness of these agreements heavily dependent on participant countries’ political will.
  • Economic disparities among countries also pose significant challenges, as developing and least developed countries often lack resources to implement these agreements. Therefore, a balance needs to be struck between environmental goals and economic development.
  • Mitigating environmental degradation and promoting sustainable development thus require large-scale international cooperation and commitment.