Global politics of the environment essays

Global politics of the environment essays Lorainne Elliot begins his article by saying that an exact definition of global environmental governance cannot be grasped but he depicts it as a useful shorthand to describe changes in contemporary international political practice; as a metaphor for world collective life; and as a Trojan horse for neoliberalism and green corporatism. From his opening statement, we can already see that Elliot views global environmental governance with a suspicious eye. Elliot goes on to state that global environmental governance reflects, constitutes and masks global relations of power and powerlessness. It is neither normatively neutral or benign Elliot looks beyond the surface and digs deeper into the structure of the problem, claiming that global environmental governance normalizes neoliberal policies, as embodied by the WTO and World Bank. Further, our group believes that since the US contributes a large sum to the funding of the WB and WTO, and since most of the employees of the said institutions are trained under neoliberal principles, these institutions reflect the interests and the voice of the US. This is an embodiment of the realists hegemonic stability theory. Going back to the article, Elliot further argues that local voices are marginalized. The author states that environmental issues are gaining importance because environmental degradation is happening at an alarming rate. Because of this, there is a pressing need for global environmental governance. Elliot also sees the state as incapable of addressing the transnational environmental issues. Furthermore, Elliot asserts that environmental issues are eroding state sovereignty because of its transnational nature. Elliot argues that the key to global environmental governance is democracy. Democracy will ensure justice and equity. More often that not, the voices of Third World countries and the poor are not heard and they are the ...