Saving the Earth: A Global Effort
In an Anarchic World, Transparency, Allies, and Sanctions are Key
Apr 4, 2008
The environment has received a lot of press in the last year. A united front to go green has hit politicians hard, and is making daily headlines. Robert Redford said it best when he said “I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend?”
Politicians all around the world are now realizing this truth and are taking measures to combat environmental degradation, increase industry standards by reducing pollution, and lowering carbon emissions. Improving environmental standards at the domestic level is one thing, but how can it work at the international level?
Talks and Negotiations
The first step is for countries to get together and just talk out their issues. These talks should be done in large groups with representatives from each nation because the environment transcends boundaries. Talks should target a specific aspect of the environment that has to be managed internationally, like water and air quality.
Agreements and Treaties
The second step is to come up with an agreement reached through talks and negotiations. It can be to reduce carbon emissions worldwide, cease dumping chemical waste into the oceans, or stop using a certain type of net that causes high bycatch levels. The agreement or treaty should be drawn up, and then signed by the different member states of the treaty.
Transparency and Enforcement
Nations need to be honest about what they are doing. When a group of countries gets together and negotiates an agreement, enforcing whatever is in that agreement becomes a group effort. Because the world is anarchic and has no overarching international government, problems erupt because there are large gains for cheating and no punishments in place.
International transparency, which means showing all of your cards to other nations, is the only way to ensure people are abiding by the rules of an international agreement. When each nation is doing its part, it is easier to see who the cheater is.
With necessary and legitimate punishments in place, such as economic sanctions, it will be harder to default from an environmentally friendly treaty.
The Current Scene
It has taken a while, but countries now see the importance of preserving the environment. It all started with a few scientists, a few missed marks (like the Kyoto Protocol - though an important mark), and environmental organizations stamped with celebrity faces to spread the word. Now the environment is more than an eleven-letter word notoriously allied with the 70’s. It’s a real thing, an important thing, which needs to be preserved.
For more information:
United Nations Environment Programme
Koremenos, Barbara; Lipson, Charles, Snidal, Duncan. The Rational Design of International Institutions. Cambridge University Press, 2004
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