Limits to Growth by Meadows and others in 1972 and The Global 2000 Report to the President of USA in 2000, and presents an assessment of what has so far been learned about this human predicament and explores aspects of its future. The editors report that “during the last three decades thinking has moved beyond impending environmental limits to resource-intensive growth to more general concerns over future ecologic
al security.” They suggest that it is much easier to manage growing problems and issues in an anticipatory fashion, dealing with them before significant damage is done, than it is to engage in remedial action later on.
This book deals with problems and issues relating to population, water, food, energy, climate change, forests and biodiversity.
The issues
Regarding population, the assessment is that the population bomb has been defused but the bad news is the growth of HIV/AIDS pandemic and reverse demographic shocks due to aging.
Conca assesses the global water prospects, highlights water-related insecurities and fragility of freshwater ecosystems, discusses socio-political variables such as the efficacy of international river diplomacy, resolving stakeholders’ controversies around water supply infrastructure, and controversies in water financing and pricing.
Cohen notes that despite increase in global food availability, starvation and malnutrition continue in developing countries. He notes that “global agricultural subsidies currently total $360 billion, with 80 per cent provided by developed country governments — subsidies amount to nearly six times the amount of all ODA.” It is pertinent to note that there is little progress in the Doha Round negotiations on reduction in agricultural subsidies.
Renewable energy
Cook and Boes review developments in renewable energy technologies such as bio-energy, geothermal, photovoltaic, solar, thermal and wind energy. They urge the need for embracing renewable energy sources because of increases in fossil fuel consumption resulting in global warming, exhaustibility of fossil fuels, and geopolitical costs.
Ruth documents the likely effects of higher temperature on all aspects of ecological security, addresses geopolitical concerns and draws lessons for decision making and institution building. Park deals with the evolution of climate change policy in the U.S. He considers equity concerns in the policy making in two ways: equitable allocation of emission levels and uneven impacts of climate change.
Degradation of tropical forests is a threat to global ecological security. The FAO estimates that an average of 15.4 million hectares of tropical forests disappeared per year during the 1970s and 1980s. Marchak considers the extent and causes of the degradation, reviews the international effort to reduce forest degradation and suggests alternatives.
Inouye illustrates the utilitarian and non-utilitarian values of biodiversity, identifies threats to biodiversity and stresses the need for protecting biodiversity for ecological security.
Pirages notes that “a growing flow of people products, plants, pests and pathogens through increasingly porous borders is threatening to upset delicate balances between people and nature and give rise to new problems including bio invasion and possibly future epidemics or even pandemics.” He urges the need for building a more sustainable global society requiring new forms of cooperation to create global public goods, to redress the imbalances, disparities and inequalities.
Lessons for future
The authors provide good assessments of the forecasts, compare them with their actual values, and draw lessons for the future. However, the assessments are based largely on the U.S. data and the U.S. experience. The concerns of developing countries do not get much attention.
Reduction in greenhouse gases, prevention of infectious diseases, increase in forest cover and biodiversity are global public goods as the benefits are non-excludable and non-rival. The U.N. General Assembly in its Millennium Declaration 2000 included eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, sustainable access to safe water, and eradication of HIV/AIDS. This decision is based on global consensus.
The U.N. Conference on Environment and Development 1992 in its Rio Declaration proclaimed principles of international cooperation for environmental governance. While global environmental issues such as global warming, depletion of ozone layer and loss of biodiversity are common concerns of mankind, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities states that “the developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit to sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.”
As most of the issues covered in the book are either pure global public goods or have become global public goods based on global consensus, international cooperation is an ideal tool to tackle these issues. The International Task Force Report 2006 notes that “it is a tool for states to align their long-term enlightened national interests to achieve common goals.”
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