Cpgp day01-session 2 - global action for mitigation of environment damages

1. Global Action for mitigation of
environment damages –
Historical timeline and
Sustainability approaches

2. Sustainable Development,
a long-term issue
1900 21002012 2050
Based on current production & consumption patterns
Two planets needed by 2050 to meet our
appetite for natural resources

3. Where it All Begins
• Concerns about the environment and
development are not new
• Strategies needed to address the inter-
related challenges of building healthy
societies, economies, and environments
• Post- World War II
• Many people consider 1962 as the
seminal year in which people began to
understand how closely linked the
environment and development truly are

4. The 50’s and 60’s
(A Period of Awakening)
• London Smog
• Minamata Disease and other Health
issues
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
• Population Bomb by John Erlich

5. The Great London Smog
(1952)
Industrial revolution of the 19th
century in Britain’s major cities gave
a dramatic increase in air pollution.

6. Minnamata Disease
As of March 2001, 2,265
victims had been
officially recognized
(1,784 deaths)
• Neurological syndrome
caused by severe
mercury poisoning.
• First discovered in
Minamata bay in Japan
in 1956.
• It was caused by the
release of methyl
mercury in the industrial
wastewater from nearby
chemical factory (from
1932 to 1968).

7. Author of Silent Spring, Rachel Louise
Carson was a writer, scientist, and
ecologist
Wrote the book calling for an end to
indiscriminate pesticide use.
Emphasized the importance of changing
how we interact and perceive nature.
Other Books by her: Under the Sea-Wind (1941), The Sea
Around Us (1952), The Edge of the Sea (1955).
Silent Spring
(1962)

8. The Population Bomb
(1968)
Best Selling Book written by Paul R. Ehrlich.
The book showed the link between population, resource
exploitation and the impact on environment.
It predicted disaster for humanity due to overpopulation and the
"population explosion".
"in the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will
starve to death“
Went on to say that nothing can be done to avoid mass famine
greater than any in the history, and radical action is needed to
limit the overpopulation.

9. The 70’s
(Reaction)
• Starting of USEPA
• World Summit on Environment &
Development (Stockholm, Sweden)
• Starting of UNEP
• Publication of “Limits to Growth”

10. US Environmental Protection
Agency (1970)
• Established as a result of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) passing in July
1969
• In July of 1970, the White House and Congress
worked together to establish the EPA in response to
the growing public demand for cleaner water, air and
land.
• Assigned the task of repairing the damage already
done to the natural environment and to establish
new criteria for a “cleaner environment”.

11. First Earth Day
(April 22nd
1970)
Earth has its first official
Earth has its first official
birthday
birthday

12. Green Peace Movement
(1971)
• Radical
Environmentalist
Organization initiated
in Canada
• Launched an
aggressive agenda to
stop environmental
damage through civil
protests and non-
violent interference.
Other Such organizations include Earth First and Friends of the Earth

13. United Nations Conference on
Human Environment
Stockholm (1972)
• 1968 - The UN General Assembly authorizes the
Human Environment Conference to be held in 1972.
• Focuses on regional pollution and acid rain problems
of northern Europe and the first international
recognition of environmental issues
• The concept of sustainable development
discussed as a resolution to the “environmental
vs. development” dilemma.
• Leads to the establishment of the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP)
First Earth Summit
First Earth Summit

14. United Nations Environment Programme
(1972)
UNEP established after UN
Conference on the Human Environment
UNEP is an advocate, educator, catalyst and
facilitator, promoting the wise use of the planet’s
natural assets for sustainable development.
Policy Development and Implementation
Technology, Industry and Economics
Regional Cooperation
Environmental Conventions
www.unep.org

15. Areas of Work
• Freshwater
• Gender
• Governance & Law
• Land Marine & Coasts
• Ozone
• Poverty
• Sanitation
• Sports
• Sustainable Consumption
• Technology
• Tourism
• Urban Issues
• Waste Management
• Agriculture
• Air Quality Assessments
• Biodiversity
• Bio safety
• Business & Industry
• Chemicals
• Civil Society
• Climate Change
• Conflict & Disasters
• Economics & Trade
• Education & Training
• Energy

16. 1985: Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
1987: Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
1988: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established
to assess information related to human-induced climate change
1989: Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous
Wastes
2000: Millennium Declaration: environmental sustainability listed as one
of eight Millennium Development Goals
2001: Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
2002: World Summit on Sustainable Development reaffirms UNEP’s
central role in international efforts to achieve sustainable development
2005 World Summit emphasizes key role of environment in sustainable
development
Environmental Conventions

17. Limits to Growth
(1972)
Jorgen Randers, Jay Forrester, Donella
Meadows, Dennis Meadows, and William
W. Behrens III in 1972

18. The 80’s
(Action)
• World Commission on Environment and
Development (WCED)
• Brundtland Report – “Our Common Future”
• The coining of Word “Sustainable
Development”
• Vienna Convention/Montreal protocol
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Basel Convention

19. World Commission on
Environment and Development
(1983)
• Convened to investigate on Development and
Environmental Issues. (lead by Gro Harlem
Brundtland)
• Focused on "the accelerating deterioration of the
human environment and natural resources and the
consequences of that deterioration for economic
and social development."
• The Commission, is best known for developing the
concept of sustainable development
• Published its report “Our Common Future” in
April 1987.

20. Our Common Future
(1987)
• The report from the
UN World
Commission on
Environment and
Development
(Brundtland
Commission) and was
published in 1987.

21. Gro Harlem Brundtland – Former Prime Minister of
Norway and Chair of the World Commission

22. Montreal Protocol on Substances That
Deplete the Ozone Layer
(1987)
• International treaty designed to protect the ozone
layer by phasing out the production of a number of
substances causing/leading to ozone depletion
(CFCs).
• Opened for signature on September 16, 1987 and
entered into force on January 1, 1989. Has
undergone five revisions
• Hailed as an example of exceptional international
cooperation

23. Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change
(1988)
• Established by the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) and the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
to overcome the problem of potential
global climate change.
• The role of the IPCC is to assess technical
and socio-economic information relevant
to understanding the risk of human-
induced climate change

24. Five shipments of toxic and radioactive waste that were
illegally imported into Nigeria by an Italian national. Within
several months, an additional 2100 tons of Italian waste
carried aboard a German ship was dumped in Nigeria.
15,000 tons of municipal fly ash, contaminated with
dioxins, heavy metals and other chemicals, was shipped
from Philadelphia, USA to the Caribbean in 1996.
Eventually a part of this waste is dumped in Haiti. The
rest is presumed to have been dumped into the
Indian Ocean.
(Source: Illegal traffic in toxic and dangerous products and wastes, Report of the Secretary-General, United
Nations General Assembly, 18 July 1989)
The Truth About Development

25. Basel Convention
(1989)
• The most comprehensive global environmental
agreement on hazardous and other wastes.
• Aimed to protect human health and the
environment against the adverse effects
resulting from the generation, management,
transboundary movements and disposal of
hazardous wastes.
• Entry into force: 5 May 1992
• Ratified by several member countries and the
European Union

26. The 90’s
• World Summit/Rio Summit
• Agenda 21
• Formation of WBCSD
• Stockholm Convention
• UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change
• Kyoto Protocol

27. Rio Summit
(1992)
• United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED),
• Held in Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992
• 172 Participants, 108 heads of State or
Government Participated
• Resulted in
– Agenda 21
– Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,
– Statement of Forest Principles
– United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change
Second Earth Summit

28. Agenda 21

29. Rio Declaration
• Goal
Establish an equitable global partnership to work on
international agreements that respect interests of all while
protecting the integrity of the global environmental and
developmental systems
• 27 Principles
– P1: Human beings are at the centre of concerns for
sustainable development. They are entitled to a
healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
P3: The right to development must be fulfilled so as to
equitably meet developmental and environmental
needs of present and future generations.

30. World Business Council for
Sustainable Development
• Founded on the eve of the Rio Earth Summit to
involve business in sustainability issues and give
it a voice in the forum.
• Major Focus Areas
– Energy and Climate
– Development
– Business Role
• Lead to a book, “Changing Course: A global
business perspective on development and the
environment.”

31. UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change
(1994)
• International treaty to consider what can
be done to reduce global warming and to
cope with inevitable temperature
increases.
• Signed at Rio Summit and Came into
effect on 21st
March 1994.
• Ratified by 191 members

32. Stockholm Convention
(1995)
• Global treaty to protect human health and
the environment from persistent organic
pollutants (POPs).
• 12 worst offenders known as the “Dirty
Dozen”, identified
• Opened for signature in May 2001 in
Stockholm, Sweden. Entered into force on
May 17th
• Ratified by 128 parties and 151 signatories.

33. Kyoto Protocol
(1997)
• Amendment to the international treaty on
climate change.
• Opened for signature in, 1998. Came into
force on February 16, 2005.
• 169 countries have ratified.
• Countries like India and China are not
required to reduce emissions though
being signatories.

34. New Millennium
• Millennium Goals
• 2002 Johannesburg Summit / RIO+10
• 2005 World Summit
• “Inconvenient Truth”

35. Millennium Development Goals

36. Johannesburg Summit
(2002)
• Held 10 years after the Rio Earth Summit (Rio +
10)
• World Summit on Sustainable Development
focus the world's attention and direct action
toward meeting difficult challenges in the New
Millennium
– improving people's lives
– conserving our natural resources
• Represented by all major groups identified in
Agenda 21
Third Earth Summit

37. World Summit
(2005)
• A follow-up summit meeting to the United
Nations’ Millennium Summit,
• Discussed progress on the Millennium
Development Goals presented in
Johannesburg
• 192 member states met in New York City
• Billed as the "largest gathering of world
leaders in history"
Fourth Earth Summit

39. “An Inconvenient Truth”
• Academy Award-winning documentary
film about climate change, specifically
global warming and its repercussions
• Presented by former United States
Vice President Al Gore
• The third-highest-grossing
documentary in the United States to
date.
• A wake up call to many people around
the world

40. “Global warming is not only the number one environmental challenge we face
today, but one of the most important issues facing all of humanity ... We all
have to do our part to raise awareness about global warming and the
problems we as a people face in promoting a sustainable environmental future
for our planet.”

41. Multilateral Environmental Agreements
1992 Rio Summit highlighted and focused attention
on the environment resulting in many conventions
and conferences on various environmental issues
These have generated a number of multilateral
environment agreements (MEAs).
MEAs require that countries develop specific
implementation mechanisms and fulfill obligations
involving reporting, training, public education, and
other activities.
Over 200 conventions held all over the world

42. Sustainable Development
"..development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs"
(source: Our Common Future)
The definition of sustainable development was first
published in the Brundtland Report (Our Common
Future)
Components: Environmental sustainability
Economic sustainability
Social sustainability
Political Sustainability

43. Quality of life
(Community),
Employee health and
Wellbeing
Short term Profitability
and long Term
Viability of a business
Reduction of
Resource usage
Reduced impacts on
Environment
Equitable development which meets the needs of the living
population and the future generations in harmony with the global
resource availability and nature’s carrying capacity

44. Millennium Development Goals

45. S.D. - Implementation
• Framework for change
• New ways of meeting the needs
• Limiting the throughput of material &
energy in the economy
• Less wasteful ways through increasing
efficiency, reusing materials & sustainable
technologies
• Redistribution of opportunities

46. Approaches for SD
• Cleaner Production
• Green Productivity
• P2/P3
• Eco Efficiency
• Global Compact

47. Quality of Life
Economic
Development
Resource
Usage
De-link Economic Development and Resource Consumption
The Challenge

48. UNIDO support approach
(2005)
• Eco redesign – optimization on product
level – 1-3 years – factor 2
• Sustainable product innovation –
optimization on functional level – 3-5 years
- factor 4-8
• Sustainable society – optimization on
system level – 5-10/50 years - factor 10-
20

49. Greening the Industry and
Green Economy

50. Earth Summit in 2012
United Nations Conference
on Sustainable Development
20 - 22 June 2012,
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Combating
Energy Poverty'
Rio Environment Meeting
Focuses On 'Energy For All'

51. Earth Summit in 2012
“The Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable
Development was the biggest United Nations
conference ever, but it may be one of the
biggest duds. It produced no major
agreements — just a vaguely worded
declaration that has
been widely derided.”
?

52. Let us move towards future…