Assess why it has proved so difficult for nation states to agree on targets for carbon emissions. Answer with reference to at least ONE case study. - PO-222 - Joshua Cronin
Nation states have historically disagreed on global targets for carbon
emissions, however, cooperation is not as rare as it once was. Firstly, this essay
will examine historical difficulties that states have faced in regard to agreeing on
targets for emissions as well as the roots of these disagreements. This essay will
also look at more recent successes in limiting global carbon emissions,
highlighting that the barriers to international environmental cooperation are
decreasing. Generally, this essay will argue that the future of carbon emission
cooperation is positive with increasing pressure from citizens and the
environment being the catalyst forcing leaders to more seriously consider
international environmental cooperation to reduce carbon emissions.
Despite the scientific community recognising the negative effects of climate change as early as the 1950s 1 , the first international environmental agreement 2 was only signed in 1992 3 , during the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro. This delay
between recognition and action was a result of self-interest by nation states that
were too focused on developing internally and were willing to neglect the effect their development had on the environment 4 . Developed nations refused to
1 Spencer Weart, The Discovery of Global Warming : Revised and Expanded Edition (Cambridge: HUP, 2008) ProQuest Ebook Central , https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/swansea [accessed 12/11/2022] 2 David Hirst, The history of global climate change negotiations (2020), https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/the-history-of-global-climate-change-negotiations/ [accessed 13/11/2022] (para. 13 of 25). 3 Joëlle Gergis, Sunburnt Country : The History and Future of Climate Change in Australia (Melbourne: MUP, 2018) p.211. 4 Matthew Paterson, Global Warming and Global Politics (Oxford: Taylor & Francis Group, 1996) p.185. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/swansea-ebooks/detail.action?docID=166891 [accessed 12/11/2022]
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