+1 862 207 3288 Research Eco-justice
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Read about the Stern Review. The report was given in the U.K. in October of 2006. Among the many important findings of this report is #5 “The impacts of climate change are not evenly distributed – the poorest countries and people will suffer earliest and most – and if, and when the damages appear, it will be too late to reverse the process…”
For this assignment we will be researching the unequal distribution of negative environmental impacts created by the wealthiest companies and countries and felt by the people in the developing world. Once again we will be exploring the responsibilities that corporations should have in mitigating, cleaning up, and avoiding these impacts.
Research a case where corporations and industrialized countries benefited at the expense of the people and/or the environment in developing nations. Examples include:
The severe health issues in the oil fields in Africa
Floods in Bangladesh due to climate change
Toxic waste disposal
Start smoking campaigns in the developing world
Pick one that interests you. Search using the terms “environmental justice,” “intergeneration equity,” and “eco-justice” to learn more about this issue and to find further examples.
Note: In doing this research you might find extreme or contradictory ideas, so be sure to access several resources to get a broader sense of what we are talking about here.
Write a 3-paragraph position statement, approximately 400 words.
In the first paragraph describe the problem, being sure to cite references where appropriate.
The second paragraph should describe what role you feel that corporations have for addressing this issue, be specific as to which companies. In addition, you should talk about who else, in your opinion, should be responsible for these issues.
The final paragraph should address what you think should be done to address this problem in the future, by local communities, companies, industries, countries, world bodies, or anyone else that you feel is appropriate. This statement should have an emphasis on what needs to be changed in the system that produced these impacts.
Three paragraphs on this topic is harder than it at first appears. Be sure to be succinct but thorough. After the three paragraphs cite all references.
The Stern Review
In October 2006, Sir Nicholas Stern, head of the UK government Economics Service and adviser to the UK government on the economics of climate change and development, presented his report to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the Economics of Climate Change. His findings include the following.
1 The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change presents very serious global risks and it demands an urgent global response.
2 The scientific evidence points to increasing risks of serious, irreversible impacts from climate change associated with business-as-usual (BAU) paths for emissions.
3 Climate change threatens the basic elements of life for people around the world: access to water, food production, health, and use of land and the environment.
4 The damages from climate change will accelerate as the world gets warmer.
5 The impacts of climate change are not evenly distributed—the poorest countries and people will suffer earliest and most—and if, and when, the damages appear, it will be too late to reverse the process. Thus we are forced to look a long way ahead.
6 Climate change may initially have small positive effects for a few developed countries, but the much higher temperature increases that are expected by the mid- to late twenty-first century under BAU scenarios are likely to be very damaging.
7 Emissions have been, and continue to be, driven by economic growth; yet stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere is feasible and consistent with continued growth.
8 Establishing a carbon price—through tax, trading, or regulation—is an essential foundation for climate change policy.
(Adapted from Stern, 2007)
The Stern Review’s findings suggest that developed countries will not suffer as much as developing countries. Although you will not turn in your answers to the following questions, interact with them as you prepare your assignments for your course:
1. Why might this be and what are the responsibilities of the developed world in relation to the developing world?
2. What difference can taxation make to climate change?
3. What are the challenges in turning the recommendations of the Stern Report into reality?
