Sustainable Development

Question 1.

a) How does the United Nations Environment Program define Sustainable development?

Meeting the needs (répondre aux besoins) of the present generation without compromising the ability (capacité) of future generation to meet their own needs.

b) Since when does consciousness prevail (prévaut) that an environmental problem exists and what triggered (déclencher) this consciousness?

• Among (parmi) the environmentally interested?

1819: In London, air pollution from factories caused many people to choke (étouffer) to death. They were the first big city to do something about it and they created zoning laws, moving the factories into a different district. For the first time, people were calling themselves environmentalists.

Since 1992: Earth (terre) summit convened (convoqué) by the UN (Conference on Environment and Development) in Rio de Janeiro. => was just a talk show: The Research Institute published a paper: the annual cost to Germany of all environmental restrictions (1% of PIB). How much for profits? 2% of PIB.

• Among the general public in USA?

1969: Cuyahoga River near Ohio; the river burst into flames. It burnt for three months. The Environmental Protection Agency started up (créé)

In 2006 in USA. Al Gore was running (etre candidat pour) for Vice-president. He showed and wrote a book about inconvenient truth about environmental problem.

• Among the general public in China?

In 2013: people suddenly being critical of economic development; China’s environmental turning point was in March 2013 with Kequiang’s speech.

Question 2.

a) The World Bank brings what into the fight against pollution?

The WB is not an American body. It begun what could we do to support Al Gore’s idea? So: International Bank of Reconstruction and Development. The WB set up a research body.

The World Bank set up the GEF: Global Environmental Facility

b) What does the GEF do?

GEF = Global Environmental Facility. What can we do to clean up without stop the economy? They publish an occasional paper with an item of sustainable development: they connect anybody with the World Bank to have money.

It is responsible for addressing environmental issues (questions, problems) and researching environmental problems.

What is its message?

Environmental stewardship (gestion) needs to be encouraged.

Which are the “important issues” it concentrates on?

- One of the main issues is Global Warming (réchauffement de la planète)

- Loss of biodiversity.

- Pollution of international waters (no more plastic and fishermen).

- Depletion of the ozone shield

Question 3.

a) Name and explain the “Three Agendas” of the World Bank.

WB has a new task: Environmental stewardship.

- The Brown Agenda. It deals with (traiter) pollution control in particular in urban environment.

- The Green Agenda. It talks about natural resources protection in particular in rural environment.

- Institution Building Agenda. NEAPs: National Environmental Action Plan. It controls department for doing an action. + Conceptual approach to development that focuses on understanding the obstacles that inhibit (empecher) people, governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations from realizing their developmental goals while enhancing (améliorer) the abilities that will allow them to achieve measurable and sustainable results.

Big problem: to say have the courage to tell other people.

b) State the “Overall Aim” (objectif general) of the World Bank.

- Resettlement (reinstallation) issues: social participation, when people feel upset, you have to talk about it (meetings) => positive synergy between development and environment

c) Explain the “concrete steps” the World Bank undertakes (entreprendre) to realize its Overall Aim

• Invest in people (poor)

• Promoting efficiency (stop waste (déchets) , end all subsidies (subventions))

• Facilitating the transform of technology.

• Promoting macro-economic stability (long term thinking, promoted by education)

Question 4.

a) Why does the World Bank believe that international agreements are “much more effective” than national efforts?

 Countries who sign the agreement are always comparing each other. There is peer pressure to do the “right” thing and if the country doesn’t, they are publicity shamed. There are also no lobbyists involved (impliquer)

International agreements are better than national agreements:

- Peer pressure: shame factor is very efficient.

- Less influence of lobbyists.

- Politicians can be more courageous, if at home they say several controversial

b) Briefly explain the following terms: SNA, EDP 1 and EDP 2.

SNA = System of National Accounting => an international standard system of national accounts used to provide (fournir) integrated, complete system accounts enabling (permettant) international comparisons of all significant economic activity.

EDP 1 = Net Domestic Product – Resource Deplfaietion.

EDP 1 = Environmental adjusted Net Domestic Product (for resource depletion).

EDP 2 = EDP 1 – Environmental degradation e.g. soil erosion, pollution

Question 5.

a) Explain how the World Bank « illustrated » the awareness-raising potential of figures, using Mexico as an example.

There was terrible air pollution – so bad that people were fainting. At that stage, the World Bank thought it was time to approach Mexico. The government wanted to know “how well are we off?”

Example of how a country can get richer and richer, but sicker and unhappier. They began to understand that just getting people happy through economic growth was not the right way. They allowed the World Bank to inspect them. The World Bank started with the NDP. The negative effects were deducted.

Net domestic product 100 %

Minus EDP 1

- Oil

- Timber

- Land use changes

TOTAL

3,5%

0,4%

1,8%

100 – 5,7 = 94,3% ( EDP1)

Minus Environmental degradation

- Air pollution

- Water pollution

- Soil erosion

- Solid waste

- Ground water pollution

TOTAL

3,9%

1,6%

1,1%

0,5%

0,5%

94,3 – 7,6 = 86,7% (EDP2)

b) Name the worst minuses to NDP as shown in the example of Mexico for: degradation and resource depletion.

Degradation : soil erosion, solid waste, ground water, water pollution, air pollution

Resource depletion : oil, timber, land use changes

Question 6.

a) How did the CO2-footprint of China develop from 1990 to 2013?

China is the biggest polluter in the world. In 2013, “airprocalypse”. Particles are dangerous because we breathe it. High: 2, 5 microns or less. 900 particles per 1 million = 40 times more than WHO limit.

Emission increased by 280% from 1990 to 2013. China produces 40% of the world’s CO²

b) Explain how the “promotion criteria” of local officials seriously affect China’s effect to avoid “airpocalypse”.

If a local official takes the environmental issues seriously, he will have to close the dirtiest factories, creating unemployment and there will be protests. The citizens begin to dislike you.

You must change the promotion criteria. The promotion criteria in Beijing have, however, remained unchanged. The local officials have an obsession with (economic) growth.

Government acts:

- Establish a ministry of Environmental protect.

- Close a lot of polluter companies and create 20 anti-pollution laws.

Question 7.

a) What is Nimbyism ?

not in my backyard: used to express opposition by local citizens to the locating in their neighborhood of a civic project, as a jail, garbage dump, or drug rehabilitation center, that, though needed by the larger community, is considered unsightly, dangerous, or likely to lead to decreased property values.

b) In his inaugural address to party cadres in March 2013 the new prime minister of Chimeena Li Keqiang made two important statements: What did he say? What does this mean for environment policies?

Stating that he was “upset” by the record levels of smog that have covered Beijing recently, Premier Li Keqiang vowed to use an "iron fist" to tackle China's pollution issues, with plans to “upgrade the country's economic development model to enable people to enjoy clean air and safe drinking water and food."

Li promised the government will set deadlines to address pollution and implement tougher measures to tackle polluters. He said: "This government will show even greater resolve and take more vigorous efforts to clean up such pollution.

Question 8.

All industrial nations one day hit their so-called “environmental turning point”.

When did this happen and what triggered it in:

a) England

b) USA

c) Japan

d) China

e) What was the “traditional policy” of industrializing countries adopted when hitting their environmental turning points?

Question 9.

a) Explain why it is impossible for China to react to its severe environmental problems the traditional ways.

b) Why is China itself “very vulnerable” to climate change?

Question 10.

Even though the rest of the

...