Foreign Policy In Focus Special Report: Global Environmental Protection in the 21st Century - Emphasizing the Individual to Protect the Global Environment

Emphasizing the Individual to Protect the Global Environment

CO2 Emissions: World and U.S., 1900-1996 (millions of metric tons of carbon)
Year	World CO2	U.S. CO2	U.S. % World CO2	World Pop. (billions)	U.S. Pop. (millions)*	U.S. % of World Pop.
1900	535	180	33.6	1.65	76.1	4.6
1920	940	463	49.3	1.86	106.5	5.7
1940	1,540	674	43.8	2.30	132.1	5.7
1960	2,563	797	31.1	3.04	181.0	5.9
1980	5,279	1,232	23.3	4.45	227.2	5.1
1990	6,109	1,289	21.1	5.29	249.4	4.7
1996	6,518	1,447	22.2	5.76	265.2	4.6
*National population data for the years 1900 to 1949 exclude the population residing in Alaska and Hawaii. National population data for the years 1940 to 1979 cover the resident population plus Armed Forces overseas. National population data for all other years covers only the resident population.
Sources: Gregg Marland, et. al., Global CO2Emissions from Fossil-Fuel Burning, Cement Manufacture, and Gas Flaring: 1751-1996 (Oakridge, TN: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, January 15 and March 5, 1999). U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, International Database, Total Midyear Population for the World: 1950-2050 (Washington, DC: Department of Commerce, December 28, 1998). U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-25, Nos. 311, 917, 1095, and Population Paper Listing PPl-91 (Washington, DC: Department of Commerce, April 2, 1998).

Perhaps the most promising development for protecting the global environment since the Earth Summit is the rise of a global environmental movement. The number of environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) addressing international issues, particularly in developing countries, has exploded in recent years, as has their capacity to build networks, gather and analyze technical information, and gain the attention of key policymakers. Virtually every country has at least one environmental NGO, many of which actively seek to collaborate with their colleagues from other countries.

Today’s communication technology has also increased the effectiveness of the global environmental community considerably. The Internet, in particular, provides a vast opportunity for forming and maintaining global networks, sharing information and experiences, and coordinating international lobbying efforts. In this regard, the most important developments are not in the formation of permanent federations or groups of formal networks but in the ability of temporary networks and campaigns to form, adapt, and dissolve readily. This dynamic process allows for concentrated efforts through new and changing alliances that focus on specific issues. It allows coordinated action in many different countries around the same issue, with little need for expensive infrastructure or costly planning meetings. Success often depends as much on internal diplomacy—the ability to maintain the interest of a large number of NGOs through the use of information technology—as on any external communication strategy. In the Internet world, NGOs may have a slight advantage over corporations in that the informality of the NGO community helps in conducting business through the Internet, and trust can build quickly among NGOs with shared goals and vision.

Protecting Unrestricted Citizen Access to the Internet. Effective Internet use by citizen movements has not gone unnoticed by those who benefit from isolating civil society. Given recent pronouncements by several countries,—including Russia and Vietnam—about restricting or monitoring international Internet communication, and given the ongoing discussions by U.S. law enforcement agencies about obtaining the capabilities to monitor Internet messages, maintaining unrestricted access to the Internet must be a high priority for the global environmental movement.

CO2 Emissions by Country as % of 1995 Global Total

fig_co2_global.gif (11503 bytes)

Source: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, World Development Indicators 1998 (Washington, DC: The World Bank 1998).

Democratizing International Environmental Law. Traditionally only nation-states have had the right to participate in the making, interpretation, and implementation of international law. This model is being challenged with respect to international environmental law, however, as many nonstate actors assume more prominent roles. Nowadays nonstate actors—for example, transnational corporations and NGOs—gather their own information, make their own alliances, and expect to participate fully in international affairs. To be sure, the primary impact of NGOs is indirect—through pressuring national governments—but in recent years NGOs have also begun to participate directly in international environmental negotiations. For example, the U.S. delegations to international meetings now routinely include both environmental NGO and industry representatives as unofficial observers. Given that environmental NGOs are generally more likely to insist on environmental protection than are government representatives, this trend toward the democratization of international environmental law will generally work to the environment’s advantage.

A few forums also now exist that give citizens a more direct role in enforcing stronger environmental policies. Prodded by NGOs and donor governments, for example, the World Bank created an inspection panel in 1993. The creation of this panel marked the first time in history that people harmed by an international institution could seek an investigation into that institution’s activities without first involving their government. Although the panel process has become highly politicized, in almost every instance claimants have received some relief and have triggered important discussions and debate about reforms at the highest level of the World Bank. The Asia Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank now offer similar mechanisms for citizen-based enforcement. The International Finance Corporation (which is part of the World Bank) recently created an ombudsman’s office to hear citizen complaints, and it is also considering creating an inspection panel. Another recent citizen forum is the petition process of the NAFTA Commission on Environmental Cooperation, through which citizens can question the effectiveness of any NAFTA country’s environmental enforcement efforts. All these citizen forums need to be strengthened and others created to expand the role of citizens in protecting the global environment.

Per capita CO2
Emissions 1995
(metric tons)

fig_co2.gif (5475 bytes)

Source: World Resources Institute, World Resources 1998-1999: A Guide to the Global Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).

The expansion of citizen rights within the international system will come at a cost, however. As nation-states relinquish their monopoly on international policymaking, corporations (not just individuals or civil society organizations) will also gain greater access and power. Already the influence of corporations on formal international governance structures is apparent. Corporations that contribute large sums of money to the so-called "host" committees for international meetings, such as the recent NATO Summit in Washington or the upcoming Seattle Ministerial of the WTO, are promised special access to the delegates. UNEP has also sought contributions from both environmental groups and industry to help pay for the negotiations of a binding treaty on persistent organic pollutants. Environmental groups will not be able to compete with the chemical industry in a treaty negotiation if financial contributions become the currency for access and political influence.

Developing Minimum and Uniform International Administrative Procedures. Transparent and accountable procedures in international affairs can temper rising corporate influence. Campaigns to press for increased access to information and to attain citizen rights to participate in international institutions are ongoing simultaneously at many different international institutions. Thus, for example, efforts to ensure minimum levels of transparency and access to information are currently being waged at the WTO, the IMF, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the multilateral development banks.

U.S. Energy Consumption and Population Figures as Percentages of the World Totals
x	1970	1995	2010(est.)
U.S. Energy Consumption*	32.7	24.8	21.0
U.S. Population**	5.5	4.6	4.3
Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook 1997* (Washington, DC: Energy Information Administration 1997). *United Nations Department of International Economic and Social Affairs, World Population Prospects* (New York: UN 1994).

A minimum level of citizen-based rights to information, participation, and independent review should be provided at all international institutions. Currently no minimum procedures or standards exist, and civil society ends up duplicating its efforts for improving governance at every institution. To avoid repeating the same battles with each regulatory body, governments should negotiate one international "administrative procedures" treaty covering all the relevant institutions. Models currently exist that can be used for the development of such a treaty—for example, Europe’s Convention on Public Participation in Environmental Decisionmaking.⁶ As the United States has been a leader in promoting greater transparency and participation at individual international organizations, it should also promote harmonization of minimum standards for international governance through an administrative procedures treaty.

Integrating Human Rights and the Environment. Human rights laws may also present important opportunities for gaining better environmental protection. Intuitively, people support the fundamental human right to enjoy minimum amounts of air and water free of contamination; to grow crops in a stable climate system on land protected from harmful ultraviolet radiation; in short, to live and raise their children in an environment conducive to human life and health.

Regardless of whether the human right to a healthy environment is recognized, however, the relationship between environmental protection and human rights is a natural one. Environmental damage is often worse in countries and in areas where human rights abuses are greatest, particularly where outside forces are driving the exploitation of valuable natural resources—for example, gold or oil—over the objections of local communities. Repression is often the only way to force this type of "development," particularly when little or no benefit is obvious for the local community. Leading environmental activists such as Chico Mendes and Ken Saro Wiwa have been killed and many others have been beaten for raising their voices. In many of these instances, the international human rights movement offers the best hope for protection from internal oppression.

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