Blog Post 4

    Will We Ever Be Able to Help the Environment?

The environment is a public good that continues to be taken advantage of. Despite the various efforts made by coalitions and some countries, the environment is being depleted, and we are beginning to experience the consequences. Big businesses and firms typically choose to produce goods and services in the cheapest way possible which is evidently always the options that hurt the environment the most. As our world becomes more and more interconnected, pollution drastically increases and heavily contributes to climate change. There is clear evidence of climate change and the effects of global warming which has pressured governments to be held accountable and create policies to change the ways in which humans operate. Although there have been many protocols, organizations, and reforms made, not every country abides by these new rules. Without the compliance of every country there will be no real preservation of the environment. 

The Kyoto protocol is a reform directed to improve climate change. The agreement was reached in 1998, but not ratified by all countries. This project is no longer in effect because of the lack of change it brought to the environment. The major issue with the Kyoto Protocol was not the policies, but the lack of inclusion of all countries. The organization lacked the more powerful countries, like the United States, “The Protocol was in fact doomed from its birth in 1997 because it did not encompass the world’s largest and fastest growing economies”(Hunt). The absence of a global agreement has made the goal of the protocol to be unachievable. The lack of large and influential countries and consequently smaller developing countries has caused the Kyoto Protocol to fail. Many would argue that the attendance of the United States in this protocol would have led to success and progress in slowing climate change. On the contrary I believe that it is essential for all countries to be involved in preserving the environment, despite their power and status in the world. All of these coalitions will never be able to make true progress without a complete global alliance for climate change. “coalition theory yields a clear prediction: when dealing with a global externality such as climate change, stable coalitions are generally small and/or are ineffective”(Bosetti). Many of the projects and policies that exist in efforts to steady the rate of climate change are not working purely because they do not include everyone in the world. Even though there are efforts made by countries to help the environment, this progress is counteracted by the pollution emitted by countries who are not involved in a climate change alliance. Without the engagement of every country in a climate change protocol, we will never see an improvement in the environment. 

Colin Hunt Honorary Fellow in Economics. “Kyoto Protocol Fails: Get Ready for a Hotter World.” The Conversation, 20 Apr. 2022, https://theconversation.com/kyoto-protocol-fails-get-ready-for-a-hotter-world-10742.

“Working Together for a Better Planet: The Best Is the Enemy of The.” VOX, CEPR Policy Portal, https://voxeu.org/article/working-together-better-planet-best-enemy-good.