Worth Saving: International Diplomacy to Protect the Environment

258 Pages·2022·5.538 MB·English

by  Anne Egelston

AESS Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies
and Sciences Series
Anne Egelston
Worth
Saving
International Diplomacy to Protect
the Environment
AESS Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies
and Sciences Series
Series Editor
Wil Burns, Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment, School of International
Service, American University, Washington, DC, USA
Environmental professionals and scholars need resources that can help them to
resolve interdisciplinary issues intrinsic to environmental management, governance,
and research. The AESS branded book series draws upon a range of disciplinary
fields pertinent to addressing environmental issues, including the physical and biolog-
ical sciences, social sciences, engineering, economics, sustainability planning, and
public policy. The rising importance of the interdisciplinary approach is evident in the
growth of interdisciplinary academic environmental programs, such Environmental
Studies and Sciences (ES&S), and related ‘sustainability studies.’
The growth of interdisciplinary environmental education and professions,
however, has yet to be accompanied by the complementary development of a vigorous
and relevant interdisciplinary environmental literature. This series addresses this by
publishing books and monographs grounded in interdisciplinary approaches to issues.
It supports teaching and experiential learning in ES&S and sustainability studies
programs, as well as those engaged in professional environmental occupations in
both public and private sectors.
The series is designed to foster development of publications with clear and
creative integration of the physical and biological sciences with other disciplines
in the quest to address serious environmental problems. We will seek to subject
submitted manuscripts to rigorous peer review by academics and professionals who
share our interdisciplinary perspectives. The series will also be managed by an Edito-
rial board of national and internationally recognized environmental academics and
practitioners from a broad array of environmentally relevant disciplines who also
embrace an interdisciplinary orientation.
Anne Egelston
Worth Saving
International Diplomacy to Protect
the Environment
Anne Egelston
Department of Chemistry, Geosciences,
and Physics
Tarleton State University
Stephenville, TX, USA
ISSN 2509-9787 ISSN 2509-9795 (electronic)
AESS Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Sciences Series
ISBN 978-3-031-06989-5 ISBN 978-3-031-06990-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06990-1
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Acknowledgments
As I place the finished manuscript in Springer’s more than competent hands, I am
more cognizant than before how much I have benefitted from the talents, friend-
ship, and loyalty of my family, students, and coworkers. Each of you has supported,
inspired, and spurred me on to complete this work. First, I want to thank my beau-
tiful parents, Thomas and Carol Egelston. They are a constant source of pride and
admiration for me. They provide me with my own personal writer’s retreat, complete
with space to write, good company, and all the comforts of my other home. I also
want to thank my grandfather, Wayne Lewallen, still with us in his 93rd year and
still walking around campus at Tarleton State University in Stephenville with me.
While writing my first book, he told me that having an honorable mention in an
acknowledgment was all the college experience he would receive. I believe you have
exceeded expectations.
I am especially grateful to my undergraduate students for possessing the courage
to speak out about the strengths and weaknesses of my classes. This book is intended
for you. I hope this book balances the academic rigors of a scholarly publication and
the provision of knowledge of what my students should learn to be successful in this
realm of international environmental affairs in the future. Thus, if I have departed
from the scholarly tradition of a knowledgeable reader in the subject area, I did so
for a good cause.
In laboring on behalf of my undergraduate students, I have been especially
assisted by a group of graduate student research assistants: Clifford Curry, Rachel
Pozzi, Wanda (Matison) Rhodes, A’dayr Shewmaker, and Kolin Yancey. Each of you
brought your own gifts to this process and I hope you have learned as much from me
as I have from you. Anna Ronck, an undergraduate student worker, joined this group
at the last minute to assist with indexing. I look forward to seeing what you do next.
My colleagues have listened to me both celebrate and despair in the course of the
last two years. I would be remiss without thanking Dr. Ryan Morgan for helping to
create a happy work environment and Dr. Amy O’Dell for helping me with all the
administrative work that inevitably comes with such a large undertaking.
v
vi Acknowledgments
Last, I want to thank my administration at Tarleton State University. Working
through the COVID-19 pandemic has not been easy. You have nevertheless paid
attention to the needs of the students, faculty, and staff. I especially appreciate the
“banked hours” release for the Spring 2022 semester that allowed me to complete
this work.
Contents
1 Introduction to International Environmental Politics ............. 1
1.1 The International State System and the UN ................... 4
1.2 Organizing Themes ....................................... 7
1.3 Purpose of the Book ...................................... 10
References .................................................... 12
2 International Environmental Diplomacy Begins .................. 15
2.1 State of the Global Environment ............................ 17
2.2 The Conversation Begins .................................. 19
2.3 At Stockholm ............................................ 23
2.4 After Stockholm, 1972 .................................... 27
References .................................................... 29
3 Institutionalizing UNEP ....................................... 31
3.1 Establishing UNEP ....................................... 33
3.2 UNEP Goes to Work ...................................... 37
3.3 Catalyzing Cooperation ................................... 42
3.4 Forward March? ......................................... 44
References .................................................... 46
4 Oceans, Seas, and Whales ...................................... 49
4.1 Tragedy of the Commons .................................. 51
4.2 Whaling ................................................ 53
4.3 Law of the Seas .......................................... 56
4.4 UNEP’s Regional Seas .................................... 61
4.5 Regimes ................................................ 64
References .................................................... 66
5 Protecting the Ozone Layer .................................... 69
5.1 From Science to Vienna ................................... 71
5.2 From Vienna to Montreal .................................. 75
5.3 The Gold Standard of Treaties .............................. 79
5.4 New Models Emerge ..................................... 81
vii
viii Contents
5.5 What’s Next? ............................................ 83
References .................................................... 83
6 Regulating the Movement of Hazardous Waste ................... 85
6.1 Hazardous Waste Laws Within the United States .............. 86
6.2 Toward the Basel Convention .............................. 90
6.3 New Developments ....................................... 95
6.4 International Environmental Justice ......................... 98
6.5 Two-Level Games ........................................ 100
References .................................................... 101
7 The Earth Summit and Its Aftermath ........................... 105
7.1 Organizing the Conference ................................ 106
7.2 The Earth Summit ........................................ 111
7.3 The Earth Summit Legacy ................................. 115
References .................................................... 119
8 Climate Change and Global Warming ........................... 123
8.1 The Science, the Skeptics, and the IPCC ..................... 124
8.2 The UNFCCC ........................................... 127
8.3 The Kyoto Protocol ....................................... 129
8.4 To Regime or Not to Regime ............................... 134
References .................................................... 136
9 Conserving Biodiversity ....................................... 139
9.1 Rationale for the Biodiversity Convention .................... 141
9.2 The CBD ............................................... 147
9.3 The CBD and TRIPS ..................................... 149
9.4 The Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols ....................... 151
9.5 Analysis ................................................ 155
References .................................................... 156
10 Limiting Exposure to Toxic Chemicals .......................... 159
10.1 Limiting Exposure to Toxic Chemicals ...................... 161
10.2 Negotiating the Rotterdam Convention ...................... 162
10.3 Negotiating the Stockholm POPs Convention ................. 167
10.4 The Hazardous Waste Regime .............................. 171
References .................................................... 172
11 Implementing Goals and Targets for Sustainability ............... 175
11.1 International Organizations ................................ 177
11.2 The Draft Emerges ....................................... 180
11.3 All Important Implementation .............................. 184
11.4 Global Governance and the MDGs .......................... 185
References .................................................... 186
Contents ix
12 The WSSD ................................................... 189
12.1 Johannesburg ............................................ 191
12.2 Why Do Conferences Fail? ................................ 196
References .................................................... 199
13 Climate Change, Redux ........................................ 201
13.1 COP 6bis and COP 7 ..................................... 203
13.2 The European Union’s Emission Trading Scheme ............. 206
13.3 “Son of Kyoto” .......................................... 207
13.4 The Bali Road Map to Copenhagen ......................... 209
13.5 From Copenhagen to Paris ................................. 211
13.6 Climate Scholarship ...................................... 213
References .................................................... 215
14 Transforming the World Through the 2030 ASD ................. 219
14.1 Transitioning from the MDGs to the SDGs ................... 221
14.2 New Goals and Targets .................................... 224
14.3 Critiques, Changes, and Challenges ......................... 227
References .................................................... 229
15 Conclusions ................................................... 231
15.1 Does International Environmental Diplomacy Make
a Difference? ............................................ 232
15.2 Complexity, Change, and Continuity Revisited ............... 236
15.3 The Future of Scholarship ................................. 238
15.4 Hope for the Future ....................................... 240
References .................................................... 242
Index ............................................................. 243