The Third World in International Environmental Politics

1
The Third World in International Environmental
Politics

• Historical Context
• Examples
• Toxic waste trade
• Ozone
• Climate

2
Background Factors

• What is the Third World?
• Legacy of colonialism
• Distrust of and dependency on North
• Weak states, strong desire for sovereignty
• Weak technical infrastructure
• Class schism elites and masses
• Commodity-based economies
• Cash crops, timber, minerals
• ICs control markets, prices
• Shadow ecologies of the North

3
background factors

• Cold War G77 Nonaligned Movement
• Post-Cold War Death of Third World?
• No Third World as identity
• Dependent on investment, aid, and loans
• Vulnerability to globalized markets
• UN aid goal 0.7 of ICs GDP
• U.S. 0.1
• World Bank, IMF controlled by North
• External debt
• Crisis of early 80s is worse now
• Many DCs pay more interest on debt than they
  receive in aid
• Ecological debt

4
Segue into International Law

• Sources
• Customary
• General principles of state law
• Formal agreement
• Soft law nonbinding codes guidelines
• Treaty binding only on parties
• International law becomes national law
• Some states require separate legislation
• Compliance high
• reciprocity, predictability, mobilizing shame

5
The Basic Formula

• Stages of international law
• Agenda setting and pre-treaty negotiations
• Science advisors, Prep Committees
• Adoption of finalized text
• Signing
• Ratification
• Entry into force
• Framework Conventions and Protocols
• States proceed incrementally from general
  principles to specific obligations

6
The Third World in Environmental Treaties

• Basel Convention on Toxic Waste Trade (1989)
• DCs wanted ban a matter of safety principle
• U.S. opposed ban for ideological reasons
• Result Prior informed consent regime
• Calls for eventual self-sufficiency in toxic
  waste disposal
• Early 90s Greenpeace exposé
• 110 countries have ratified
• Nonratifying signatories US, Afghanistan Haiti
• African states unite DCs around outright ban
• By 1994, 100 countries joined ban
• 1995 Basel Ban Amendment bans all hazardous
  waste exports from ICs to DCs
• Landmark treaty for envtal justice cost
  internalization
• 60 countries have ratified
• Entry into force requires ratification by 3/4 of
  signatories
• www.basel.int

7
Source Basel Action Network
Source Basel Action Network
8
Lagos, Nigeria Source Basel Action Network
9
The New e-Waste Problem

• Hyper-growth in IT churn burn model
• 70 of heavy metals in landfills from IT
• The solution recycling to Africa Asia
• Nearly all is junk
• NGO efforts
• Market-based consumer solutions
• Responsible recyclers www.e-Stewards.org
• Reduce toxicity
• EPAs Electronic Product Guide www.epeat.net
• Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics
• Lessons
• DCs can be a forceful coalition, especially with
  NGO support
• Importance of political symbolism
• Some issues are more amenable to treaties than
  others
• Away is a place and people live there

10
The Third World in Past Treaties

• Montreal Protocol on Stratospheric Ozone (1987)
• ICs cut CFCs 50 by 2000
• DCs could increase for 10 years
• 1990 CFC phaseout by 2000
• Multilateral Ozone Fund
• A big precedent
• ICs fund DC transition to substitutes
• U.S. insisted this is not a precedent
  Concern climate change
• Lesson If ICs want DC compliance, they must fund
  transitional technologies

11
Convergent Third World Interests on Climate Change

• Shared vulnerability concern for equity gt
• Common but differentiated responsibility
• ICs must act first
• Sustainable Development
• Right to development gt DC GHG emissions will
  increase
• DCs ICs must fund transition in DCs
• Additionality new aid added to existing
• Technology transfer from ICs to DCs
• Renewable energy

12
Divergent Third World Views

• Diverse perspectives
• Rapid industrializers India, China, Brazil,
  Mexico
• China nearly half of DC GHG emissions
• OPEC
• Small Island States
• Fourth World
• 6,000 nationalities in 192 countries
• 15 of worlds pop. claims rights to 25 of land
• Human rights/ environment connection
• Indigenous peoples forest sinks
• Skeptical of state sovereignty, growth imperative