POLI 350 Final
MRV
- acronym from the Climate Registry - stands for: measuring, reporting and verifying (the carbon in their operations in order to manage and reduce it)
Seven Deadly Sins of Greenwash
*Sin of Vagueness*: what does "all natural" even mean? Arsenic and mercury are naturally-occurring, does that make them environmentally-friendly? *Sin of No Proof*: an environmental claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable third-party certification *Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off*: a claim suggesting that a product is 'green' based on a narrow set of attributes without attention to other important environmental issues. What about the environmental impacts of paper manufacturing? e.g. GHG emissions, chlorine bleaching *Sin of Irrelevance*: an environmental claim that may be truthful but is unimportant or unhelpful for consumers seeking environmentally preferable products. For example, "CFC Free" means nothing since most CFCs are banned by law *Sin of Worshipping False Labels*: gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement exists *Sin of Fibbing*: when environmental claims are outright false (fake eco-labels)
property + casualty companies + sustainability
- Asbestos claims - Superfund claims (USA) - environmental impairment insurance - climate change
how private finance initiatives for involved in sustainability
- Asbestos, LUSTs, US Superfund legislation - World Bank activities - Real estate collateral issues - Public relations/image issues - Investor demands for socially responsible investments - Eco-funds
"Exxon turns the tables to sue the suers in aggressive bid to defeat climate-change lawsuits"
- Exxon claims lawyers, public officials and environmental activists are conspiring against it in a coordinated legal and public relations campaign
"individualization of environmentalism"
- Maniates - gravitating towards things that we can do as individuals more than collective responses
Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI)
- PSIs provide a global roadmap to develop and expand the innovative risk management and insurance solutions that we need to promote renewable energy, clean water, food security, sustainable cities and disaster-resilient communities - 4 principles: (1) embed environmental, social and governance issues in decision-making, (2) work together w/ partners to raise awareness, manage risk and develop solutions, (3) work together w/government and stakeholders to raise awareness..., (4) accountability and transparency in disclosing progress
What's the certification with the frog logo?
- Rainforst Alliance - third party certification, NGO
Anti-Whaling Regime
- UN Conference on the Human Environment (1972) - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (1973) - International Whaling Commission (IWC) - International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) - Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary - Sea Shepherd, Greenpeace, etc.
UHI
- Urban Heat Island effect - an urban area or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities - being targeted by the C40 Cool Cities Network
What is the Cool Cities Network?
- a C40 program - focused on sharing best practices and research to better understand the Urban Heat Island effect and develop tools and resources that help cities advance cool roofs, green roofs, pavements and other surfaces
What is the Low Emission Vehicles Network?
- a C40 program - serves as a platform for cities to share best practice and policies, and aims to accelerate the adoption of low emission vehicles globally through city collaboration as well as by working with key industry stakeholders
RGGI
- an example of subnational governance - RGGI = Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative - cooperative effort among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont - states set a regional greenhouse gas budget for emissions from the power sector - that budget is reduced by 2.5% each year - states sell nearly all emission allowances through auctions - proceeds go to energy efficiency, renewable energy and other consumer benefit programs
The Climate Registry
- an example of subnational governance - a non-profit organization governed by the US states and Canadian provinces and territories - assists in measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) the carbon in their operations in order to manage and reduce it - Chief service: standardizing how GHG emissions are measured and recording them in a centralized database - possibly a prelude to a North American carbon market?
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
- an international independent standards organization that helps businesses, governments and other organizations understand and communicate their impacts on issues such as climate change, human rights and corruption
How do social movements affect global environmental governance?
- capable of changing the political calculus for elected politicians domestically - repertoires of contention are often replicated in other contexts - naming-and-shaming or boycott campaigns can affect the bottom line of businesses - gives rise to more formal, institutionalized policy-making efforts (e.g. standard-setters) - shifts individual values
private financial institutions
- commercial banks - investment banks - property and casualty insurance firms - life insurance firms - pension funds - hedge funds, private, equity, venture capital - pooled investment vehicles/fund managers - foundations/endowments
Common attributes of eco-labels
- consumer-facing eco-labels - 3rd party standards governing environmental conduct - increasingly prevalent - voluntary - transnational
3 major components of finance
- debt - equity investments - insurance underwriting
public sector financial institutions
- development banks (multilateral, regional and bi-lateral) - governmental finance/treasury ministries - export/import banks - others
civil society
- dramatic increase of non-governmental organizations from 6,000-50,000 since 1990s - a voluntary associational sphere that is independent from the state and the market - framed as a legitimate source of authority and power in the regulation and rule-making of global environmental governance - civil society and NGOs typically target: state behaviour, economic actors, and society at large
The challenges of eco-labels
- even with third party organizations, there is lots of greenwash - who sets the rules for winning an eco-label? - how are those rules enforced? - how do we know what is working and what is not?
Plant Genetic Resources (PGR)
- example of regime complex - who owns the rights to genetic codes, seed varieties, and plant extracts?
Global Covenant for Mayors for Climate and Energy
- example of subnational climate governance - committed cities establish a baseline inventory - leadership established through a multi-phase process, including setting a target, implementing, planning and reporting, among other things - mayors' commitments will cut 12.67GT of CO2e by 2030 and 34.20GT of CO2e by 2050
NAZCA Portal
- example of subnational climate governance - provides a formal access point for cities in the UNFCCC
Michael Maniates
- factors promoting individualization: historical baggage of mainstream environmentalism, core tenets of liberalism, dynamic ability of capitalism to commodify dissent, relevantly recent rise of global environmental threats to human prosperity - when we individualize our response, we leave little room to ponder institutions, the nature and exercise of political power, or ways of collectively changing the distribution of power in society - confronting consumption requires individuals to understand themselves not as consumers but as citizens in a participatory democracy, working together to change broader policy and institutions - The Lorax: The Lorax challenges the industrialist, who is cutting down the Truffle trees to produce "Thneeds" for the unquotable consumer markets --> Once-ler/industrialist is stereotypical rapacious businessman who succeeds in enriching himself by laying ruin to the landscape, Lorax fails miserably, only being able to say "I told you so"
arguments for individual action
- gateway effects --> individual consciousness is the gateway to collective mobilization - path dependence: once institutionalized sustainable behaviours are difficult to reverse (e.g. bicycle commuting) - demonstrative effects and socialization - additive impacts - singling to government and industry
David Gordon
- global climate governance is failing: GHG emissions have increased since the issue was added to the global agenda - signs of dynamism as non-state actors engage in a variety of global governance experiments - cities + cities networks (like C40): important source of innovation, challenge prevailing norms regarding who should govern climate and how responses can be generated - in Canada, engaging local government offers the federal government a means of addressing gaps in the current national climate policy approach and linking climate with other pressing urban objectives
what can WE (our actual selves) do?
- go beyond individual action - vote with the environment in mind - invest green - get involved with at least one social movement or NGO, amplify your voice and concentrate your resources - be an informed and diplomatic advocate amongst family and friends, talk to people who disagree with you, do it with civility and panache - embed sustainability in whatever you do for work
Consequences of Regime Complex
- institutional layering (e.g. PGR regime complex shaped by existing IP law (patents already existed for plant breeders)) - forum shopping (e.g. developing countries negotiate through FAO, industrialized countries through WTO) - legal inconsistencies (e.g. confusion and discrepancy between rules) - wide variance in implementation (e.g. breadth of rules allows countries to make it up as they go)
investment banks + sustainability
- large firms in high environmental impact industries (e.g. chemicals, forestry, mining, petroleum, utilities, etc.) - IPOs for environmental businesses or large high impact industries - client interest or request for screened investments
debt
- lending activity (home mortgages to project/structured finance) - credit extensions (open lines) - fixed income products (a wide range) - IPOs (most initial public offerings are not common stock) - public vs. non-publicly traded companies - common vs. preferred stock - IPOs - for "the financier" vs. for "their customer"
The "groundswell"
- lots of environmental governance is happening from the bottom up - the "groundswell" of environmental governance - action by cities, NGOs, states/provinces, regions, private businesses, communities - true across multiple issues: climate change, deforestation, oceanic pollution
the Triple Bottom Line
- measures a company's degree of social responsibility, its economic value, and its environmental impact - seeks to broaden the focus on the financial bottom line by businesses to include social and environmental responsibilities
World Economic Forum
- mission: committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas
Orchestration
- mode of governance in which one actor (the orchestrator) enlists an intermediary actor or set of actors (the intermediary) to govern a third actor or set of actors (the target) in line with the orchestrator's goals - orchestrators don't control their intermediaries, but provide them with support and guidance (financial and administrative support, or ideational support (legitimacy and normative guidance)) - can be an effective way of dealing with fragmentation and regime complexity, allowing representative institutions like states and IOs to steer global environmental governance towards commonly agreed-upon goals - can allay concerns about the privatization of global environmental governance - addresses knowledge an resource capacity issues for IOs - comes with accountability concerns
deep ecology
- most popular in 80s-90s - a spiritual guide for those concerned about the impact of human activities on other species and ecosystems - a touchstone for those interested in understanding and changing the relationship between people and the environment - a political and moral incentive and rationale of activists defending wilderness values around the world - a significant influence in governance and politics regarding natural area and wilderness management and species conservation
examples of development banks
- multilateral: World Bank, International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency - regional: IADB, EBRD, ADB, AFDB (public-private SME) - bilateral: Development Finance Initiative (Canada), Overseas Private Investment Corporation (US)
governmental regulators
- national/regional (e.g. US Federal Reserve Board, Bank of Canada, OSFI, European Central Bank) - global (e.g. Financial Stability Board, Basel Committee, Bank for International Settlements, International Association of Deposit Insurers)
Characteristics of a social movement
1) collective 2) spontaneous 3) sustained 4) not defined by rules and procedures 5) social movements are not global environmental governance per se, rather they exert influence over global environmental governance
Why subnational governance?
- neoliberal institutionalist: bottom-up efforts offer political feasibility (smaller constituencies, easier to get a harmony of interests) (e.g. Vince, Denmark) - constructivist: cities/states often hold different views on the environment than their countries; identity is socially-constructed and therefore regionally and historically contingent, national governments are aggregators of many interest groups and thus may see their interests very differently (Mayor of Pittsburgh rebuttal to Trump's tweet) - realist: local ordinances are increasingly the only way that climate progressives can get things done, given he blockages that exist at the national level - marxist: - feminist:
Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
- nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the scale and effectiveness of impact investing around the world - impact investments are investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return
Challenge to valuing bottom-up initiatives
- not all forms of environmental governance can be easily measured or quantified - what about things like norm change? - what about unintended impacts? (e.g. Kyoto Protocol and voluntary carbon markets) - what about emulation in different contexts?
what's next for sustainable finance?
- private finance initiatives are still in transition - developing banks are possibly shrinking focus - and lots more
main players in sustainable finance
- private sector financial institutions - public sector financial institutions - governmental entities and regulators
insurance
- property and casualty - life - reinsurance - disaster - underwriting vs. investing sides of the business
Valuing bottom up action (how do we know if it's working?)
- quantify objective and track progress towards that objective (e.g. 2MT carbon reductions by 2020) - function-output fit (e.g. training for climate smart behaviour is the function, training manuals are the output) - how we value bottom-up environmental governance determines what types of initiatives get funded and what types of approaches get replicated - valuation approaches may have significant flaws
commercial banks + sustainability
- real estate collateral - lender liability - looking at how environmental performance affects the borrower's cash flow from production facilities
why private finance initiatives might integrate sustainability into their risk management process
- reduce risk - facilitate making loans they might not have made - consistent with Basel II - transparency - good public relations - employee reaction
"Fragmentation" of global environmental governance
- relates to regime complexes, issues of forum shopping, institutional layering, legal inconsistencies - dispute between actors over the proper institutional forum for addressing GEP - perhaps problem is that we're looking for a top-down, one-size-fits-all solution
Equator Principles
- risk management framework, adopted by financial institutions, for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social risk in project finance -primarily intended to provide a minimum standard for due diligence to support responsible risk decision-making - applies to 4 financial products: (1) project finance advisory services (2) project finance (3) project-related corporate loans (4) bridge loans - 10 principles: (1) review and categorization, (2) environmental and social assessment, (3) applicable environmental and social standards, (4) environmental and social management system and Equator Principles action plan, (5) stakeholder engagement, (6) grievance mechanism, (7) independent review, (8) covenants, (9) independent monitoring and reporting, (10) reporting and transparency
"Measuring Fashion Report delivers results from the first study on the global environmental impacts of the apparel and footwear industries" + "Making Your Favourite Jeans Better for the Planet"
- second article is from Walmart Today - study is the first of its kind to assess the environmental impacts of the global apparel and footwear industries and considers the industries' value chains across 7 stages and 5 environmental indicators
Why should we care about corporate environmentalism?
- some lead firms have purchasing power comparable to countries (e.g. Walmart to Russia or India) - this gives them tremendous leverage over suppliers in many countries (reach) - in a globalized economy, suppliers are easily replaced (enforcement capability) - hence there is arguably more hierarchy in a GVC than in the international state system - less democratic input means decisions can be make quickly and enforced sternly - sovereignty isn't a consideration in GVC - ripple effects from lead firm policies can reform entire industries (e.g. Walmart and milk)
sustainable insurance
- strategic approach where all activities in the insurance value chain, including interactions with stakeholders, are done in a responsible and forward-looking way by identifying, assessing, mangling and monitoring risks and opportunities associated with environmental, social and governance issues - aims to reduce risk, develop innovative solutions, improve business performance, and contribute to environmental, social and economic sustainability
arguments against individualization
- substitution effects - people conceive their agency as consumers first and citizens second --> individualization precludes more radical and transformative action - collective action dilemma --> individual footprints are minor, so there are incentives to free-ride - lack of credible information (hard to differentiate greenwashing by companies from legitimacy) - lack of time and cognitive capacity - lack of resources (price premiums for eco products) - questionable impacts --> "for most people most of the time, lifestyle changes are ecologically irrelevant" (Wapner and Willoughby) --> spendings less or not having kids just means more income for investment, which will go to environmentally-unfriendly companies most of the time
Challenges for social movements
- sustaining momentum (e.g. Occupy Wall Street) - message unity and discipline - directing energy at appropriate targets - avoiding backlash (rolling coal - black smoke blown by trucks) - rising above the "white noise" - preventing infiltration - reconciling movement priorities with other social movements (e.g. indigenous rights to development)
potential players in a visible/big financial transaction
- the lead financial institution - the client - other financial institutions - NGOs - government representatives - media - various consultants and lawyers
What are the root causes of environmental problems?
- the nature of the international state system - inefficient institutions of global governance - global capitalism - ideas and norms that hinder progress
Challenges for corporate environmentalism
- weakness of the business case for sustainability - constraints of international trade agreements (e.g. Dolphin safe tuna) - dynamism of global norms about business ethics - inflexibility of corporate governance structures and fiduciary duty - difficulty separating greenwash from governance (is environmentalism mainstream now or has the movement been co-opted)? - inherent un-sustainability of current modes of production and consumption - incentives to cheat exist
the quandary
- what's the role of the UNFCCC in relation to "groundswell" initiatives? - IOs remain the best-positioned to understand the full scope of environmental challenges and the type of response required, but there is no world environmental organization or similar organization to get everyone on the same page
questions to consider about finance and sustainability
- which type of institution faces the greatest risk from sustainability factors? (commercial banks, investment banks, development banks, or insurers)
limitations to the subnational approaches
- wide gulf between a relatively small number of cities taking concrete and aggressive local action and much larger groups of cities doing little more than making nominal commitments - who gets to orchestrate these efforts? and how will they incentivize compliance? - does the growing role of cities exacerbate the urban-rural divide on climate change? - federal/provincial law trumps city ordinances in most cases (e.g. Arizona and Happy Meal toys) - lack of $$$ in cities - things cities don't control, such as trade, non-property taxes, power production...
Third-party eco-labeling
-a response to accusations of greenwash - a way of adding legitimacy to corporate environmentalism - a way of leveraging consumer power to achieve environmental goals - a way of shifting accountability from firms to consumers and third party organizations - an easy way for individuals to express their environmental values
Explanations for corporate environmentalism
1) capitalist system, shareholder pressure (logic of consequence + exogenous, resembles neorealism and neogramscianism) 2) self-interested managers, organizational structure (logic of consequence + endogenous, resembles neoliberal institutionalism) 3) social norms (logic of appropriateness + exogenous, resembles English School) 4) eco-centric managers, organizational culture (logic of appropriateness + endogenous, resembles constructivist theory)
2 ways to look at sustainable finance
1) how specific aspects of sustainability are related to the financial performance of enterprises and the financial institutions that provide them with fundings --> for enterprises to be truly sustainable from a range of perspectives, they must be financially viable, given that economic decisions are the current primary driver behind most development/business activities around the world 2) different things to different financial players: (a) industry; (b) investors; (c) creditors; (d) underwriters; (e) regulators; (f) civil society (NGOs, the public, foundations, other)
Root causes of environmental problems
1) nature of international state system 2) inefficient institutions of global governance 3) global capitalism 4) patriarchy 5) ideas and norms that hinder progress
3 requirements of a social movement
1) political opportunities (any process that significantly changes the calculations and assumptions on which the political establishment is structured) (e.g. war, regime change, economic crisis, natural disaster) 2) mobilizing structures (the collective vehicles through which people initially mobilize and begin to engage in sustained collective action) (e.g. NGOs, universities, religious institutions) 3) frames (shared meanings and cultural understandings that people bring to any instance of potential mobilization) (e.g. images that evoke fear/hope. similes, metaphors, "the hole in the ozone")
mega conferences
AKA mega summits informal term used to refer to large UN-sponsored conferences that address the global environment and development characterized by high level attendance by heads of government and state, international media coverage, participation of stakeholders and civil society representatives e.g. World Summit on Sustainable Development
"BC to appeal NEB ruling on Trans Mountain bylaw"
Article about BC government appealing a decision that allows Kinder Morgan Canada to bypass local regulations in constructing its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion
"Zero Hour"
Article... not sure what it was
"Panacea for the Pacific? Evaluating Community-Based Climate Change Adaptation"
Australian aid and other donors taking more community-level approach: seems they provide some development benefits, including increased awareness, empowerment, cooperation, and self-esteem, but that it is too soon to tell whether this approach can reduce long-term vulnerability to climate change
G8/G20 Meetings
Conferences of states
CBD
Convention on Biological Diversity (treaty to protect biological diversity)
Who said this?: "We could spend 50 years lobbying 75 national governments to change the regulatory frameworks for the way... are grown and produced. Or these folks at Coke could make a decision that they're not going to purchase anything that isn't grown or produced in a certain way - and the whole global value chain changes overnight... Coke is literally more important than the United Nations"
Gerald Butts, Former President and CEO of WWF Canada
GMEF
Global Ministerial Environment Forum (conference)
IMF
International Monetary Fund (analysis on carbon taxes, subsidies) (international organization)
MonWHO Conference
Montreal World Health Organization simulation
private governance
emerges at the global level where interactions among private actors, or between private actors on the one had and civil society and state actors on the other, give rise to institutional arrangements that structure and direct actors' behaviour in an issue-specific area emphasizes that corporations can exercise a legitimate form of authority without the explicit backing of government
OECD
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (best practices for decarbonization) (international organization)
"Together Rainforest Alliance and UTZ will be a more powerful force for positive change"
Rainforest Alliance and UTZ (both certification bodies) are merging into just Rainforest Alliance
"EPA chief Scott Pruitt faces renewed pressure despite Trump's support"
Scott Pruit, Environmental Protection Agency (US), being slammed for rent deal linked to an energy sector lobbyist and spending of public money on a security detail
states
international law criteria: - territory - inhabited by a people - with a legitimate government exercising authority over them defining character of such localized political order: Max Weber's monopoly of legitimate violence within a territory
UN Global Compact
international organization that gets businesses involved
High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
international organization that gives guidance on achieving SDGs)
social movement
loosely organized but sustained campaign in support of a social goal, typically either the implementation or the prevention of a change in society's structure or values - collective - spontaneous - sustained not
UNCSD
UN Commission on Sustainable Development (international organization)
UNCCD
UN Convention to Combat Desertification (treaty to combat serious drought or desertification, particularly in Africa)
UNFOF
UN Forum on Forests (conference)
UNGASSSD
UN General Assembly Special Session on Sustainable Development (conference)
UNEP
United Nations Environment Programme (international organization)
UNFCCC
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (treaty)
UNFCCC COPs
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (conference assessing progress made in combating climate change) (this year COP24 is happening in December in Poland)
What are states and IOs doing?
lots of stuff --> problem is that with no world government, environmental governance can be fragmented and conflictual
WSSD
World Summit on Sustainable Development (conference)
WTO
World Trade Organization (allows some environmental restrictions to trade) (international organization)
Is there a growing emphasis on subnational climate governance?
Yes. - NAZCA Portal provides a formal access point for cities in the UNFCCC - Global Covenant for Mayors for Climate and Energy - North American Climate Summit (2017) brings together mayors from: Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Dar es Salaam, Guadalajara Jal, Mexico City, Montreal, NYC, Toronto, Vancouver - Bill gates is building an $80M smart city in Arizona - Canada's budget: $21.9B in green infrastructure, $25.3B in public transportation
regime complex
a collective of partially overlapping and nonhierarchical regimes legal inconsistencies due to a lack of coordination several distinct legal agreements, supported by different IOs, with participation from different sets of actors no agreed upon hierarchy for resolving conflicts between regimes
international organizations
a formal international institution established by governments for an exclusive membership of states within the confines of the normative framework - it is the administrative entity, especially, that constitutes the basis for autonomous agency of international organizations, which distinguishes it from international institutions overall
regimes
a governance arrangement aiming at social regulation, with specific focus on the convergence of interests among its members - regimes in IR can be bilateral or multilateral e.g. UNFCCC
orchestration
a mode of governance in which one actor, the orchestrator, enlists an intermediary actor or set of actors, the intermediary, to govern a third actor/set of actors, the target, in line with the orchestrator's goals rather than attempting to govern the target directly
anthropocene
a new geological approach characterized by humans being the dominating force of biophysical change at the planetary level
regime
a set of explicit or implicit principles, norms, rules and decision-making procedures around which actors' expectations converge in a particular area of IR focus on solutions to a single issue usually involve multiple organizations organizations, treaties and conferences comprise a "regime"
personal choices to reduce individual contribution to climate change
low impact: upgrade light bulbs moderate impact: hang dry clothes, recycle, wash clothes in cold water, replace typical car with hybrid high impact: eat a plant-based diet, switch electric car to car-free, buy green energy, void one transatlantic flight, live car-free, have one fewer child
fragmentation
many policy domains are marked by a 'patchwork pf international institutions that are different in their character (organizations, regimes, and implicit norms), their constituencies (public and private), their spacial scope (from bilateral to global), and their [predominant] subject matter"
World Bank
money for green infrastructure (international organization)
What is C40?
network of the world's largest megacities committed to addressing climate change
sustainable development
progress that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
clubs
small exclusive groups of (powerful) governmental actors that meet regularly to discuss, and if they reach unanimous consent, agree on measures that have implications for global issues - e.g. G7, G8, G20
are regimes a good thing?
some say yes... - English School might point out emergence of a primary institution - Neoliberal institutionalists see potential for absolute gains (different institutions allow for smaller groups to cooperate, law transaction costs due to building on prior experience, benefits of polycentricism)
subnational governance
subnational = actions performed by governments below the state-level (provinces/states, cities, towns) governance = making laws and bylaws, but also "softer" attempts to steer behaviour like allocating resources, providing information, sharing best practices, or building capacity - subnational environmental governance both influences and is influenced by global environmental politics - e.g. RGGI, the Climate Registry
planetary boundaries
synthesis framework intended to capture 9 earth system processes that manifest themselves at the planetary level - 9 processes: (1) climate change, (2) ozone depletion, (3) atmospheric aerosol loading, (4) ocean acidification, (5) global freshwater use, (6) chemicals pollution, (7) land system change, (8) biological diversity, (9) biogeochemistry
consumerism
the excessive overconsumption of consumer goods without regard to the negative impacts to people and the planet
Global value chain
the full range of activities that multiple firms in multiple countries undertake to bring a product or service from its conception to its end use e.g. cotton grown in USA --> cotton spun into yarn in Indonesia --> yarn becomes cloth in Bangladesh --> cloth assembled into t-shirt in Taiwan --> t-shirt warehoused and sold in Canada
Lead firms
those businesses in a global value change that wield the most economic clout
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer ( + Montreal protocol)
treaties to protect ozone layer
Basel Convention
treaty on e-waste
Stockholm Convention
treaty on persistent organic pollutants
Minamata Convention
treaty to prevent against adverse environmental and human effects of mercury
IPAT formula
used to calculate human impact on the environment I = P x A x T I = impact P = population A = affluence T = technology
