Brainstorm Session: Global Environmental Organization

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Permalink Reply by Randy Chatterjee on March 26, 2010 at 11:48pm

In a matter of speaking, such an organization already exists, UNEP or United Nations Environmental Program. Founded in 1972, this specialized UN agency has offices worldwide, including at least one on each continent. Its headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya.

Now, as to its mandate and effectiveness, that is another matter altogether, as is quite clear from the ecological shape in which our earth now finds itself. Of course one could say the same about almost all of the UN bodies, from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The UN is itself an intergovernmental organization, with no democratic underpinnings and thus no distinct legitimacy and power, apart from the whims of its militarily strongest members. Therein lies the problem, and the solution is probably not reforming UNEP, but creating a world parliamentary body and governance structure. This exactly what the western Europeans discovered after two World Wars; governance must fit what is to be governed. The EC and then EU were created to share power and responsibility over that which is larger than any one nation.

Our environment is global; therefore its protection must be managed globally, and not by 200+ sovereign, whinny, and syndicalist government "leaders."

So, my first contribution to this brainstorm is to recognize that we already have the tool, UNEP, but we must have a mechanism to wield it smartly and appropriately. We need a means to tap the will of the global populace and put it into action. The answer lies in global governance reform.

No small task.

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Permalink Reply by Henry Gordon-Smith on March 27, 2010 at 12:04am

Thanks for the thoughts. The current problems with information consensus at UNEP and Copenhagen have led me to think a lot about this lately. Is it really a functioning GEO? I have recently been reading through some of the scholarly work on the matter and one of the interesting criticisms was this:

Adil Najam argues that if UNEP has been denied resources by states (which it has) then that would happen as well with other GEO's.

I agree with this and am therefore reluctant to support the investment into a new GEO. I like what you said, that it will be managed globally.

On the other hand, I also read about a market based organization that developed an international environmental market. This made me consider the possibility that there are some global organization options...

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Permalink Reply by Randy Chatterjee on April 14, 2010 at 9:43am

The environment is almost by definition a market externality, unless people can be convinced to pay for clean lair, water, and land out of their own pocket, AND including that which they do not consume themselves.

This is a tall order, but I could be convinced otherwise about market solutions, if you would do me the favour.

Of the ones I know well, market-based environmental-protection systems such as carbon cap and trade schemes have universally failed due to the perceived unfairness or unevenness of the economic impacts and intense political lobbying to reduce the economically dislocating or disadvantaging effects of significant overall cuts.

Seriously, set me right with ideas for a market system that can work.

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