Ecological Issues: International

Environmental Agreements,
Climate Change.
GLOBALISATION AND ENVIRONMENT

Ecological issues, including the international environmental concerns and

climate change are among the most pressing challenges facing by the global
community. This issues transcend national boundaries and required
international corporation and collective action. Ecological issues such as
biodiversity loss, deforestation, pollution and climate change to not
recognise national borders. Their impacts are felt globally and their solutions
require collaboration and cooperation among countries. globalisation has
had a signi cant impact on the economy, ecology and society over the past
decade. Meanwhile, the green economy has emerged as a critical policy
framework for the growth and development in the develop developed and
develop developing nations.

Increased transport of goods- one of the primary consequences of

globalisation is that it opens of business to new markets in which they can
sell, quote and resource labour materials and components. Both of these
realities mean that nished products now travel further than ever before
potentially halfway along the world in the past products were more likely to
be manufactured and sold and consumed locally. This increased
transportation of courts can a ect the environment in many ways-
Increase emissions- the father away. The product goes the more foil is used
and the greater amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced
Habitat destruction- transportation, especially when it is land waste to
requires good infrastructure like roads and riches. The development of such
infrastructure can lead to issues including housing loss and pollution.
Invasive species- each shipping container and we sell presence an
opportunity for living organism from plants to animals to fungi to a new
location where it can become aggressive and involve without checks and
balance that may be present in its natural environment.
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 Economic specialisation- of frequently overlooked side of e ective
globalisation is that it allows nations and geographical regions to focus on
their economic powers, knowing that they may turn to trading partners for
goods and they do not produce goods and self over use of can lead to
serious environmental problem, often in the form of habitat loss,
deforestation and over use of natural resources. For example:
1. Illegal deforestation in Brazil has led to an increase in the country. Animal
has operation operations which require signi cant land for grazing.
2. Excessive shing in coastal area, including south-east Asia has led to
signi cant reduction in sh population and marine population
3. Excessive reliance and cash crops such as co ee, cocoa and various
fruits contributes to habitat loss, specially in tropical climate.

Decreased biodiversity- increased greenhouse gases, ocean, aceti cation,

deforestation, climate change, and the introduction of invasive spaces, all
work to reduce global biodiversity. According to a living planet report by the
world wildlife fund, the population of all living things including mammals,
sports, sh and Fabians and reptiles has declined by 68 percentile in 1970
while this decline and bio diversity has many causes it is widely believed that
the issue is listed above have also contributed in part.

Increased our awareness- many of the environmental e ects of

globalisation have been negative. Its rise has led to an increase in
environmental awareness around the world. Greater connectivity and higher
rate of international travel made easy than ever for people to see the e ects
of default, station, habitat loss and climate change and then this intern
contributes to new laws, rules and procedures that limit negative e orts
Role of mNCs-
Globalisation has allowed societies to enjoy many bene ts including
increased global cooperation, reduce of global con ict and commodity
prices. Unfortunately it also leads to serious negative e ects on the
environment because globalisation cannot be ended or reverse. The situation
is like to worse nations, governing bodies and other bodies are forced to act,
laws and regulations, limiting the negative e orts.

Increased greenhouse gas emission- climate changes, a major

environmental problem that has connectivity through greenhouse gas gas
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emissions, excessive maintenance of solar energy that must be due to the
accumulation of certain gases especially CO2. The main source of CO2
emission is industrial protection, transportation and D forestation but it is
also considered as a source of the development in the 20th century specially
in recent times.

Deforestation- logging and burning of trees reduces amount of CO2

converted to oxygen by plants, converting rainforest oxygen houses into
farmland or concrete forest for the production. Of course and meeting the
market in one way or the other almost twice the spice of Paris per day for
agriculture purposes, especially in developing countries. one of the reasons
of the increase in the number of natural disaster like hurricanes earthquake is
also global warming. The melting of gases increases the sea level. Coastal
areas are are high rise cries temperatures could only lead to extinction of
living species such as penguin, leopard, dolphin and polar bears which are
declared endangered.

Increase in shing- shing has put pressure on the oceans of some sh

places over shing is done, not only for consumption, but also for medicinal
used to increase global demand.
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 What are International Environmental Conventions?

An international environmental convention is a legally binding

agreement negotiated among governments to take action together to combat
or mitigate a global environmental threat. Reaching an agreement to take
such action among sovereign nations with diverse interests is no small feat.
However, in recent decades, such agreements have proliferated to address
international environmental concerns at the global and regional levels.

Why is there a Need for these Conventions?

▪ Rati cation and implementation of the Convention and its protocols will,
for many Parties, reduce health and environmental impacts more cost-
effectively than unilateral action.

▪ It also creates economic bene ts as harmonized legislation and

standards across borders will introduce a level playing eld for industry
across countries and prevent Parties from competing with each
other at the expense of the environment and health.

▪ Factors that harm human health, affect food security, hinder economic
development, contribute to climate change and degrade the
environment upon which our very livelihoods depend.

◦ The Convention provides a platform to discuss these

interconnections and takes actions to prevent negative
impacts.
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 List of Environmental Conventions

Name Year of Establishment

Ramsar Convention 1971
Stockholm Convention 2001
CITES 1973
Convention on Biological Diversity 1992
Bonn Convention 1979
Vienna Convention 1985
Montreal Protocol 1987
Kyoto Protocol 1997
United Nations Framework 1992
Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC)
Rio Summit 1992
UNCCD 1994
Basel Convention 1989
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety 2000
UN-REDD 2008
Nagoya Protocol 2010
COP 24 2018
COP 21 2016
Kigali Amendment 2016
Minamata Convention 2013
Rotterdam Convention 1998
COP 25 2019

Brief about Environmental Conventions

1. Ramsar Convention
 • It is called the Convention on Wetlands
• It was adopted in the city of Iran, Ramsar in 1971.
• It came into force in 1975.
Read more about Ramsar Convention, and Ramsar Wetland Sites in India
from the links below:

• Ramsar Convention, 1971

• List of Ramsar Sites in India
2. Stockholm Convention

• It is a convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

• It was adopted in 2001 in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It came into force in 2004.
Read more about the Stockholm Convention at the linked article.

3. CITES

• It is a convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild

Fauna and Flora
• It was adopted in 1963.
• It came into force in 1975.
Read more about CITES at the linked article.

4. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

• It is a convention for the conservation of biological diversity.

• It was adopted in 1992
• It came into force in 1993.
Read more about the Convention on Biological Diversity at the linked article.

5. Bonn Convention

• It is a convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild

Animals.
 • It was adopted in 1979.
• It came into force in 1983.
Read more about the Bonn Convention at the linked article.

6. Vienna Convention

• It is a convention for the Protection of Ozone Layer.

• It was adopted in 1985.
• It came into force in 1988.
Read more about the Vienna Convention at the linked article.

7. Montreal Protocol

• It is an international environment protocol on substances that deplete

the Ozone Layer.
• It was adopted in 1987.
• It came into force in 1989.
Read more about the Montreal Protocol at the linked article.

8. Kyoto Protocol

• It is an international protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

• It was adopted in 1997.
• It came into force in 2005.
Read more about the Kyoto Protocol at the linked article.

9. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

• It is an international environmental treaty governing actions to combat

climate change through adaptation and mitigation efforts directed at
control of emission of GreenHouse Gases (GHGs) that cause global
warming.
• It was adopted in 1992.
• It came into force in 1994.
Read more about the UNFCCC at the linked article.

10. Rio Summit

• It is a United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

• It was held in 1992 at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Read more about Rio Summit at the linked article.

11. UNCCD

• It is a United Nations Convention to Combat Deserti cation.

• It was adopted in 1994.
• It came into force in 1996.
Read more about UNCCD at the linked article.

12. Basel Convention

• It is a convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of

Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.
• It was adopted in 1989.
• It came into force in 1992.
Read more about the Basel Convention at the linked article.

13. Cartagena Protocol

• It is an international environmental protocol on Biosafety to the

Convention on Biological Diversity.
• It was adopted in 2000.
• It came into force in 2003.
Read more about Cartagena Protocol at the linked article.

14. UN-REDD

• It is a United Nations Programme on Reducing Emissions from

Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
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 • It was created in 2008.
Read more about the UN-REDD at the linked article.

15. Nagoya Protocol

• It is an international environment protocol on Access to Genetic

Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Bene ts Arising from
their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
• It was adopted in 2010.
• It came into force in 2014.
Read more about Nagoya Protocol at the linked article.

16. COP24

• It is the 24th meeting of the conference of parties (COP) to the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• It took place in 2018.
Read more about COP24 at the linked article.

17. COP21

• It is the 21st meeting of the conference of parties (COP) to the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• It took place in 2018.
Read more about COP21 at the linked article.

18. Kigali Agreement

• It is an amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

• It was adopted in 2016.
• It came into force in 2019.
Read more about the Kigali Agreement at the linked article.

19. Minamata Convention

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 • It is an international environmental treaty intended to protect health and
the environment from the adverse effects of mercury.
• It was adopted in 2013.
• It came into force in 2017.
Read more about the Minamata Convention at the linked article.

20. Rotterdam Convention

• It is an international environmental convention on Prior Informed

Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and
Pesticides in International Trade.
• It was adopted in 1998.
• It came into force in 2004.
Read more about the Rotterdam Convention at the linked article.

21. COP25

• It is the 25th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• It took place in 2019.

WHAT IS UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON

CLIMATE CHANGE?
▪ UNFCCC was signed in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development also known as the Earth Summit, the
Rido Summit or the Rio Conference.

◦ India is among the select few countries to have hosted the

COP of all three Rio conventions on climate change (UNFCCC),
biodiversity (CBD) and land (United Nations Convention to
Combat Deserti cation).

▪ The UNFCCC entered into force in 1994 and has been rati ed by 197
countries.
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 ▪ It is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement. It is also the parent
treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

▪ The UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) is the United Nations

entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate
change. It is located in Bonn, Germany.

▪ Its objective is to achieve stabilisation of greenhouse gas

concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous repercussions within a time frame so as to allow ecosystems
to adapt naturally and enable sustainable development.

What is Kyoto Protocol?

▪ The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the

UNFCCC, which commits its parties by setting internationally
binding emission reduction targets.

▪ The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997 and entered
into force in 2005.

▪ It recognized 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 detailed rules for the implementation of the Protocol

were adopted at COP-7 in Marrakesh, in 2001 and are referred to as
the Marrakesh Accords.

▪ Kyoto Protocol Phase-1 (2005-12) gave the target of cutting down

emissions by 5%.

◦ Phase- 2 (2013-20) gave the target of reducing emissions by at

least 18% by the industrialized countries.

What is Paris Agreement?

▪ Paris Agreement (also known as the Conference of Parties 21 or

COP 21) is a landmark environmental accord that was adopted in
2015 to address climate change and its negative impacts.
 ◦ It replaced the Kyoto Protocol which was an earlier agreement
to deal with climate change.

▪ It aims to reduce global GHG emissions in an effort to limit the global

temperature increase in this century to well below 2°C above pre-
industrial levels, while pursuing means to limit the increase to 1.5°C
by 2100.

▪ It includes:
◦ Addressing the nancial losses vulnerable countries face from
climate impacts such as extreme weather.

◦ Raising money to help developing countries adapt to climate

change and transition to clean energy.

◦ This part of the deal has been made non-legally binding on

developed countries.

▪ Before the conference started, more than 180 countries had

submitted pledges to cut their carbon emissions (Intended Nationally
Determined Contributions or INDCs).

◦ The INDCs were recognised under the agreement, but are not
legally binding.

◦ India also reaf rmed its INDCs commitments to meeting the

goals under the Agreement in order to combat the climate
change.
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