Compromise and accommodation are the two essential policies required by states to save planet Earth. Substantiate the statement in the light of the ongoing negotiations between the North and South on environmental issues.
For bringing about development and industrialisation and to satisfy the insatiable greed for more, human beings have permanently damaged the environment. Excessive urbanisation and industrialisation have increased deforestation leading to a rise in the pollution level, which is further depleting the resources and bringing about dramatic changes in the climate. In this context, we must strive for the conservation of environment with possible participation from all the stakeholders.
However, in our efforts to save the planet Earth, we have witnessed differences in approach of the North, representing the developed world, to that of the South, representing the developing world.
a. The developed countries of the North want to share their responsibility equally with the developing nations, i.e. the South, in their endeavour to conserve the environment.
b. The North wants discussion and deliberations on the environmental issues as they exist today. They rather blame the Third World countries for causing environmental damage in their bid to attain development.
c. Developing countries, on the other hand, share a different approach. They argue that much of the damage to the environment has been caused by the industrially developed nations which have achieved their level of development. So it is them who must take the greater responsibility in conserving the environment.
d. For example, it has been estimated that an average American consumes 40 times more resources than an average Somalian in an underdeveloped country. The developed countries with maximum level of industrialisation have caused maximum carbon emissions, damaging the environment.
e. The developing world argues that the international treaties and the laws on environment must be modified to suit their interests.
f. In this context, the twin principles of compromise on the part of the developed world and the accommodation of interests of the developing world are the only way out to reach at a consensus.
g. These principles were fairly endorsed in the Rio declaration at the Earth Summit of 1992, which accepted the idea of “Common but differentiated responsibility”.
Therefore, it acknowledged that even though environmental degradation is a common problem requiring the immediate attention of all, the developed world would take the greater responsibility in preserving the environment taking into consideration the damage they have inflicted on the environment in the past and also the technological and financial resources they have. The acceptance of the Kyoto Protocol can be seen in this context.
For bringing about development and industrialisation and to satisfy the insatiable greed for more, human beings have permanently damaged the environment. Excessive urbanisation and industrialisation have increased deforestation leading to a rise in the pollution level, which is further depleting the resources and bringing about dramatic changes in the climate. In this context, we must strive for the conservation of environment with possible participation from all the stakeholders.
However, in our efforts to save the planet Earth, we have witnessed differences in approach of the North, representing the developed world, to that of the South, representing the developing world.
a. The developed countries of the North want to share their responsibility equally with the developing nations, i.e. the South, in their endeavour to conserve the environment.
b. The North wants discussion and deliberations on the environmental issues as they exist today. They rather blame the Third World countries for causing environmental damage in their bid to attain development.
c. Developing countries, on the other hand, share a different approach. They argue that much of the damage to the environment has been caused by the industrially developed nations which have achieved their level of development. So it is them who must take the greater responsibility in conserving the environment.
d. For example, it has been estimated that an average American consumes 40 times more resources than an average Somalian in an underdeveloped country. The developed countries with maximum level of industrialisation have caused maximum carbon emissions, damaging the environment.
e. The developing world argues that the international treaties and the laws on environment must be modified to suit their interests.
f. In this context, the twin principles of compromise on the part of the developed world and the accommodation of interests of the developing world are the only way out to reach at a consensus.
g. These principles were fairly endorsed in the Rio declaration at the Earth Summit of 1992, which accepted the idea of “Common but differentiated responsibility”.
Therefore, it acknowledged that even though environmental degradation is a common problem requiring the immediate attention of all, the developed world would take the greater responsibility in preserving the environment taking into consideration the damage they have inflicted on the environment in the past and also the technological and financial resources they have. The acceptance of the Kyoto Protocol can be seen in this context.
