Support for the Study of
Environmental Governance
Katsuo Seiki
Global Industrial and Social Progress Research Institute
Exective Director
Mr. Seiki was elected to Vice Chairman
of IPCC at the general meeting of IPCC held at Maldives on September
1997.
1 . Views on addressing environmental problems
Disregarding the possible
over-simplification, there are two ditfferent views on address-ing the
environmental issues. One is to stress the importance of a technological
break-through. In Japan's efforts to overcome SOx and other air pollution
problems of I960' s and l970's, the most critical factor was the emergence
of new and effective technologies such as the desulfurization of exhaust
gas. In climate change problems, also, the Climate Technology Initiative
(CTI) implemented by OECD forwarded by the Japanese Government strongly
upholds the position that, with-out technological innovations to reduce
emission or to separate, recover, and recycle GHGs, there will be no
solution for climate change. The CTI program was initiated by Japan's
call for international cooperation on the "New Earth Project"
and was a typical one of the technology-oriented programs.
The critics on this
view claims that relying on unpredictabe progress of technological innovation
can be risky, and may delay the restructuring of social system for which
immediate action is needed.
The second view Is
that of the environment-theorists who find greater potential in introducing
a new life-style that reflects a new social value. Mr. Dennis Meadows,
the author of "Beyond the limit" is one of the leaders in
this view. As known well, the theory of these people is that the current
level of anthropogenic activities already exceeds the tolerance of global
environment in many facets, and that controlling materialistic desires
of humans will be the only way to overcome the global-scale crisis arising
from such activities.
This concept also
receives criticisms that it is like "returning to medieval time"
and will lessen vitalities of societies, or that it will be unfair to
press this view to developing countries which still need economic development
in materialistic sense.
Both "technology
innovation" and "life-style change" will have their importance,
yet adhering to either view will lose persuasiveness. What we need is
a search for the third way.
2. Why no progress
in environmental measures?
In spite of activeness
for environmental discussion, or the increased awareness of people,
we find little progress in the practical implementation of environmental
measures. According to the survey, conducted by the Asahi Glass Fund
among the intellectuals of the world to find their perception of global
environmental issues, the sector that advanced most since the Rio Summit
is the mobilization of NGOs, citizens' groups, and local administrations.
The common understanding among intellectuals is that almost no practical
progress has been made whether to maintain bio-diversity or to mitigate
climate change. Why is there a gap between people's awareness, and the
practical execution of measures? Such question may be a starting point
in search of the third way for environ-mental issues.
Let us take the climate
change problem, for example. The United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change was adopted at the Rio Summit. Contemplating the Third
Conference of Parties to be held in Kyoto this December, we are in the
process of re-negotiation, today, to establish more practical protocol.
Naturally, many discussion
opportunities are offered to confirm the importance of technological
development and technology transfers, and of life-style changes. So
far, however, the negotiation process has been more for the revelation
of complicated conflictive relationships between South and North, USA
vs. EU, or oil producing nations vs. small island nations. With the
lack of leadership, the negotiation process has evidently hindered the
Party nations for their implementation of practical measures. The Party
nations, therefore, seem to be in a dilemma of prisoners, evident in
their increasingly dominant attitudes of blaming each other, or do-nothing
until someone-do-something.
Concerning these backgrounds,
what we find as the vital point for actual introduction of policies
and measures on the climate change is the conscientious building of
systems for fair and equal distribution of cost, for verification of
actual implementation, and for corroborating compliances. Current UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change remains merely to stipulate the
commitment of specific nations, and lacks in such concept of building
a system for verification of fairly distributed duties. The climate
change problem is not the only one to have such tendencies. It is a
common phenomenon among almost all issues that require global scale
deliberation, such as the Convention on Bio-diversity, international
rivers and streams management, and acid rain control. The key for resolving
global environmental issues can be this concept of build-ing such a
regime.
3. Encouraging the
study of environmental governance
Today, in East Asia,
rapid economic growth and population increase are bringing the complicated
and multi-facet problems of energy and environment. In the environment
sector, both global and regional environmen-tal problems are occurring
intricately and simultaneously with so-called acute and local industrial
and residential pollution. For the energy sector that is closely associated
with environmental problems, there is the accumulation of problems in
the region such as those of resource management, waste management, nuclear
proliferation, and energy supply instability. Here we find the emergence
of environment/energy governance issue which can be far more intricate
than the climate change problerm.
Recently, there are
increasing opportunities for environment/energy analysts, international
policy researchers, and national security experts to meet each other,
and to examine the solutions for environment/energy issues from entirely
new view-points.
The Global Industrial
and Social Progress Research Institute is willing to address this issue
of environment/energy governance as a core subject of its study under
the theme of environment/energy security in East Asia, with the establishment
and reinforcement of networks in cooperation with other relevant institutes.
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