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Dialogues@RU is published
annually
by the
Writing Program at
Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Volume Two
Spring 2003
Clean Development to Address
Global Climate Change, Inequality, and Environmental Rights - Page
2
by Kara Scharwath
Many people in developing countries are severely impoverished. They lack the means to provide themselves with even the basic requirements of life. In her article, Collins-Chobanian describes welfare interests, which she uses as the basis for "environmental rights," as "the most important interests humans have and include physical, emotional, and intellectual health; a secure environment; the absence of coercion; and (assuming an economy) minimal economic wealth." (133). Her idea is that all human beings should be provided these conditions and, according to these principles, the populations of developing countries should have the right to strive for minimal economic prosperity. The prospect of limits being put on their greenhouse gas emissions threatens this right. Developing countries must participate in efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions in order for those efforts to be effective, but negotiations must address their equity concerns and ensure their rights to economic prosperity if they are expected to contribute. In his article, "Global Governance for the Environment: Equity and Efficiency," Laurence Tubiana discusses how considerations of equity are essential for the success of environmental agreements. He says that, "taking equity into consideration may well play a decisive role in the launch of a policy of cooperation between nations displaying a substantial degree of inequality" (335). The only way for the Kyoto Protocol to be successful is for equity in the right to economic development to be taken into consideration in negotiations so that developing countries will participate. Development concerns are a key equality issue for developing countries. Acknowledging these concerns in negotiations and including measures that address them in Kyoto will contribute to the fairness that Tubiana deems necessary for success; but development concerns are only one of the issues that need to be addressed.
To ensure that developing nations participate in negotiations to address climate change, the inequalities in who will bear the brunt of the consequences of the warming climate, and the subsequent violation of environmental rights, will need to be addressed. Have developing countries made a significant contribution to the problem of global warming? No, but they will disproportionately suffer the impacts when compared to industrialized nations that have been the primary emitters of greenhouse gases. These impacts have the potential to threaten their prospects for sustainable development. In their article, "Towards an Equitable Global Climate Change Regime: Compatibility with Article 2 of the Climate Change Convention and the Link with Sustainable Development," Metz et al. discuss the disproportionate effects that elevated levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will have:
Wherever greenhouse gases are emitted, the negative impacts from rising greenhouse gas concentrations such as threats to food production, ecosystems and human settlements will be unevenly distributed. Developing countries are much more vulnerable than industrialized countries due to their larger dependence on agriculture, limited infrastructure, lack of knowledge and technology and their limited financial, institutional and governance capabilities. These climate change impacts can seriously undermine the prospects for sustainable development. (211-12)
Developing countries will be much more seriously affected by the impact of global warming than developed countries, which is obviously unfair. Because of their lower levels of development, government, and infrastructure, they will experience much more dramatic suffering in the wake of the rising climate. They will suffer decreases in food availability and ecosystems and settlements will be destroyed by changes in temperature and rising sea levels. Prospects for development will be threatened because of the hardships that they will suffer. The developing world will need to address the negative effects that climate change will have and will not be able to put resources toward development. The tragic losses that will be suffered as a consequence of global warming, discussed above by Metz et al., constitute a violation of the environmental rights described by Collins-Chobanian as "the most fundamental to life," including the basic needs of food, air, water, and shelter (133). In a market economy, this includes the right to development. Collins-Chobanian says that "in a market economy, the right to earn a livelihood is required to provide necessities for life. Prima facie, the right to earn a livelihood (required for sustaining life) and environmental rights (required for sustaining life) have rough equality" (141). Because development is needed to earn a livelihood in a market economy, it is fundamental to sustaining life. Concerns about global warming's consequences are linked to the development pursuits of developing countries and threaten their environmental rights. To take equality concerns into consideration, as Tubiana suggests, and ensure the success of the treaty, these issues must also be addressed in the Kyoto Protocol. Because international society is becoming increasingly based on the market economy, the easiest way of securing environmental rights, which are the basis for survival, is through development of an economy. Consequently, the easiest way to address the issue of development in developing countries so that they will participate in global climate change agreements is through the market. A market economy can be established in these countries to foster better access to jobs and to the necessities of life, but the lifestyle that generates and is generated by that economy often has a negative impact on the environment.
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