The History Of The Global Environment

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Just as some individuals make huge gains as a result of globalization, thousands of others indeed whole nations suffer or lose out completely. Globally there remain close to 3 billion people i.e. nearly half the world’s population surviving on less than 2 $ a day. These people have not shared in the wealth created by globalization. Worse still those who lack the skills to get connected to this global economy are often attracted away from their home countries to work in those that already benefit the most. This phenomenon has been called a ‘brain drain’. For poor countries such losses are especially hard to bear, as they have often spent limited resources educating people to reach those standards. In one year Nike paid Michael Jordan US $ 25 million to advertise its shoes – the same as 35000 Vietnamese workers were paid to make them.

New connections: one benefit of global labor market is that, with citizens working overseas, valuable trade and business links can be established. In 2002, it was estimated that 3% of the world’s population lived outside their country of origin. Less developed countries can also benefit from payments that overseas workers send home to their families. In Haiti, remittances account for 17% of the national Income in 2000, and over 10% in five Latin American and Caribbean nations (LAC). In fact, the LAC region received over us $ 20 billion in remittances in 2000, making this form of income more important than aid payments and equivalent to a third of FDI in the region. As labor becomes increasingly international due to globalization, remittances will become even more important to the economies of less developed and developing countries. In 2000, overseas workers from Latin America and the Caribbean made over 80 million remittance payments.

The Global Environment:

People may continue to debate whether culture is truly global or how global the economy is, but there is one issue that is definitely global – the environment. We all share the same planet and we all depend on its ability to support life. More importantly, we are dependent on one another’s ability to manage and protect the environment for the benefit of all. This common dependence has led some commentators to refer to the environment as ‘global commons’.

Nature provides clear examples of how environmental events in one area have an impact on the global commons. For example, in 1991 the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines threw so much ash and gas into the atmosphere that it created a cloud around the whole globe. This cloud blocked out some of the suns energy and temporarily reduced average world temperature by 0.5 to 1 degree Celsius. The El Nino effect, caused by the occasional warming of the Pacific Ocean, is another example of a local event having a global impact.

"The more the economy grows, the more rapid the depletion of the living systems that are the source of all real wealth and the more intense the unequal competition between the rich and poor for what remains – a competition the poor invariably lose" – People Centered Development Forum

Thus volcanoes and EL Nino provide strong reminders that we share the same global environment and we can all be affected by any changes in that environment. Increasingly, however it is human activity that rather than natures that is doing the most harm. Scientists have predicted that global warming will lead to an increase in extreme weather events. The distribution of wild life could change and farming could be severely disrupted as the conditions required for growing crops are altered. Extreme flooding in Europe, long period of drought in eastern and southern Africa are proof of global warming.

A number of environmentalist believe that globalization, with its emphasis on industry, international trade and travel is going to be a major threat.

Waking up to Reality:

Globalization is not at all bad news for the environment. It has made people more aware of the environment and dangers facing it. Greater media coverage, personal travel experiences, and international cooperation have brought environmental issues into the homes of people far removed from where they are actually happening. People are slowly beginning to understand that they are directly connected to and influenced by the state of the environment at both local and global level.

Governments have also taken environmental issues more seriously in recent years. New policies have been adopted by many countries to try to protect the environment better. And globally, governments are working together to tackle some of the biggest issues such as climate change.

"Globalization is getting a bad name, but we have shown that global decisions can be the good of the environment." – Jan Pronk, Chairman of Kyoto climate negotiations.

Environmentalists are especially concerned about the actions of the large TNCs when it comes to environment as their countries of origin introduce tighter controls to protect the environment and relocating their corporation to countries with lesser restrictions. This means that globalization is leading to a transfer of pollution and environmental degradation from the rich to the poor countries. The poor are least able to cope with the effects of pollution.

"Only when people are rich enough to feed themselves do they begin to think about the effect of their actions on the world around them and on the future generations" – Bjorn Lomborg, Danish Environmentalist and Author.

Resisting Globalization:

Since the mid 1990s there has been a rising tide of concern about globalization and in particular the role of TNCs. This concern has become so strong that it has turned into a resistance movement, determined to make governments and TNCs redirect globalization for the good of all. What makes this anti globalization movement special is that it is not made up of global experts but of ordinary individuals. Across the world people are frustrated with the way their lives are dominated by the seemingly large corporations and inability of governments to do anything about it. Many people have lost their homes, jobs as a result of globalization, or watched their local environment being destroyed or polluted. Strongest amongst these concerns is the belief that a successful global society should function in the interests of the people, rather than business. 75% of Americans believe that business has gained too much power over many parts of their lives.

"What is the worth of representation if our politicians now jump to the commands of corporation rather than those of their known citizens." – Noreena Hertz, The Silent Takeover, 2001.

In many parts of the world people have now began to take direct action against globalization and its negative consequences. Critics have been quick to point this out and often accuse the anti – globalization movement of having few ideas for an alternative or fairer system.

"I think the protestors have made an important contribution by making people aware of the flaws of the system. People on the street had an impact on public opinion and corporations which sell to the public responded to that." – George Soros, Founder of Quantum Group of Funds.

Some of the ideas are giving all nations a fair chance to compete in the global economy is one of the main aims of the anti – globalization movement. In particular, protestors argue that the crippling debts many of these countries owe to wealthy nations should be forgiven so that they can redirect their money into developing their economies instead of making debt repayments. Campaigners are also concerned that workers and producers should be paid fairly for their labour. Another campaign supported by those resisting globalization is the idea of localization. This promotes a return to local markets and locally produced goods and services. Supporters believe that it would help create strong local economies, build new skills, and reduce environmental impact. Food is used as an example of the potential benefits.

"Anti- globalization has piggy backed on globalization. The resources, infrastructure, and technology of a globalizing world have enabled the anti – globalization movement." – James Harding, Financial Times Newspaper, UK

The Future of Globalization:

A mixed blessing: in the opening decade of the 21st century, globalization remains one of the world’s most pressing debates, giving rise to a huge range of conflicts, opinions and ideas and raising far more questions than answers. If globalization is so good and has created so much wealth then why do nearly a billion people stay in poverty? If globalization encourages efficiency and enterprise, why is technology known to be harmful to the people and the environment still so widely used? If the divide between the rich and the poor is getting wider at both a local and global level, then how can globalization be said to bring benefits to all?

It is hardly surprising that globalization has become such a complicated and confusing issue to most people. There are certainly those who have made up their minds and have emerged as strong supporters or critics of globalization but the vast majority of people remain unsure of where they stand and even more certain about the future of globalization.

"There is little sign that the economic benefits of the global village will be evenly distributed. The income gap between the rich and poor has widened over last 50 years. The technology gap has yawned wider still." – Richard Buckley, Understanding global issues, 1998

An inevitable process: many people follow the view of world politicians – that globalization is an inevitable process that is here to stay. They would argue that too many people around the world are now dependent on international trade and global links for it to all suddenly disappear. Many would not want to lose such benefits. They enjoy a higher standard of living than ever before, greater opportunities to travel, and more personal choice in what they eat, drink, wear, and enjoy. But if all this is an inevitable result of globalization vast majority of the world’s population living in less developed countries do not enjoy the same benefits. For them globalization has meant loss of their livelihood and the destruction of their environment. To make matters worse, many are now seeing their traditions, beliefs, even their languages are being replaced by culture of those controlling globalization.

A change for the better: far from accepting globalization as an inevitable process, an increasing number of people believe that something can and should be done about it. They point to the success of initiatives such as fair trade movement as examples of how global business can be beneficial for producers, business, and consumers alike. The proceeds of fair trade have paid for thousands of children to start attending school and for hundreds of communities to be given improved health care facilities.

Ecotourism is another global initiative that has bought benefits and led to greater protection of some of the planets most endangered environments. These are just two examples, however many more exist.

"I remain convinced that globalization can benefit human kind as a whole. But clearly, at the moment, millions of people – perhaps even the majority of the human race – are being denied of those benefits. They are poor not because they have too much globalization, but too little or none at all" – Kofi Annan, UN Secretary – General.

"I do not think it makes any sense to be unreservedly for or against globalization. The question is rather how everybody including the poor, can benefit from the advantages of globalization without suffering from any of its disadvantages." – Guy Verhofstadt , Prime Minister of Belgium.

Take it personally:

Despite such positive examples, critics of globalization warn that there are still many reasons to be concerned about the future. One of the biggest concerns however, is the attitude of the general public when it comes to globalization. Too many people believe they are powerless to make any difference to the way society and economies are currently run. In fact some of the lots are so convinced by this that they do not even turn to vote anymore. The truth, campaigners say is very different. Without voters, a politician cannot be heard and without customers a business has no income. They believe that if we all take globalization personally then our actions can make a real difference. Time will tell if they are right.

"Consumers are starting to ask about the origins of the product, about the producers, their working conditions, and their wages. They are also realizing that they can make a difference, that their actions can force business to change" – Body Shop website.

Review of Related Literature

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Demirbas et al. (2010) calculated the chances of the globalization status of a firm changing from year to year and developed the following Transition Matrix

Fig 3??. Transition Probabilities Across Firm Categories

Source- Demirbas et al. (2010), National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi

This examination of transition probabilities has three key implications. First, internationalization is relatively 'sticky'; firms tend not to flit around these categories. Second, D firms rarely jump directly to DXI. The process of graduating to globalization generally involves first achieving DX status. Third, the progression towards internationalization is not inevitable. Many firms drop down from DXI to DX and from DX to D.

The observations of their research with respect to globalization were as follows:

Firms in the electricity industry have the lowest proclivity for internationalization.

Firms with lesser tangible assets are more likely to internationalize.

Firms with greater investments in knowledge are more likely to internationalize.

Firms which earn a higher return on equity appear to be slightly less inclined towards internationalization.

Younger firms are more likely to internationalize.

Helpman et al. (2004) predict that more productive firms export and the most productive firms do outbound FDI.

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India to be among top energy importers; Reddy, India Blooms News Service, October 2012.

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Renewable energy investments rise globally, India posts 62% growth. Investments highest in solar power followed by wind energy, Press Trust of India / Washington Oct 11, 2012.

The article explains the growth story in terms of investment in the Indian renewable energy space. Some of the interesting facts mentioned in the article include, USA scoring 57% growth in the investment vis-a-vis renewable energy over 2010 levels, outpacing all countries except India's 62% and overall, the United States ranks second in total national renewable energy investment at $50.8 billion, followed by Germany at $31 billion.

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India seeks Israeli expertise in renewable energy sector, The Hindu Business line, October 24, 2012.

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EU delegates due to visit India to explore energy, bio tech opportunities. The Economic Times November 2, 2012.

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Peerzada Abrar, Youngsters bringing in innovations in renewable energy; new techs are reducing dependence on fossil fuels. The Economic Times November 1, 2012.

The article talks about a 25-year-old Abhishek Humbad`s startup NextGen, which turns organic waste into energy and fertilizer.  Abhshek Humbad has teamed up with Mahindra & Mahindra-the largest gen-set provider to telecom towers in India. The senior vice president of M&M and business head of Mahindra Powerol said, "The technology is good, there is a big possibility that, it can be a game changer, "We are very bullish." Though it’s a big bet for a giant like M&M to get associated with a startup as one can’t afford to let the tower go down even for a millisecond, industry experts are optimistic towards this new technology as the government pushes telecom companies to go green to reduce the industry`s carbon footprint and its dependence on diesel.

Wind energy industry seeks incentive - Business Standard Chennai October 27, 2012.

The article considers the various challenges faced by the Wind energy industry in India such as absence of proper incentives – like generation-based incentive (GBI) and accelerated depreciation benefits, which were earlier enjoyed by the industry. Indian Wind Energy Outlook 2012 to be held is expected to discuss these issues and developments related to the wind energy generation industry. The industry unanimously agrees that Generation based incentives and accelerated depreciation would be key drivers of growth for the Indian wind energy sector.

Indo Rama to enter renewable energy business, Livemint October 17 2012

The articles discusses about India’s second-largest polyester manufacturer, Indo Rama Synthetics (India) Ltd`s entry in the Indian renewable energy sector. It is starting with (a) 30MW wind turbine project and in (the) next two years, it will increase it up to 100MW.Though this step taken by the company is considered as, hedging efforts as the core business is not doing well, renewable energy sector is attractive one for other Indian and Global conglomerates too.

Renewable energy investments grow globally; India reports sharpest surge - The Economic times October 11, 2012.

The article investigates investments in the renewable energy space across various countries. New investments in renewable energy and fuels reached USD 257 billion worldwide in 2010, with India logging the sharpest surge and China attracting the largest amount at USD 52.2 billion. Investment in India grew 62 per cent -- the highest growth rate for any single country over 2010 totals.

Alaeddine Mokri, Proving that solar power can help meet the UAE's energy needs. The National, November 4, 2012 

The article investigates as to, how e UAE's existing solar projects will contribute to the overall goals of sustainable energy. UAE called the "sun-belt" being the middle region of the globe that is most exposed to the sun leverages the solar energy is the best possible manner. Abu Dhabi city, Al Ain and Sharjah are found to have among the highest yearly solar- energy input out of 207 regions in the Middle East and North Africa region. Some interesting insights and finding were mentioned in the article such as, the general belief that solar modules perform less well at high temperatures and humidity is not necessarily true. Indeed, some solar panel technologies, such as organic solar modules, work best under such conditions. It was found that solar energy could be a much better source of power for desalinating water than natural gas, both financially and environmentally.

Renewable energy will overtake nuclear power by 2018. – The Guardian, 30 October 2012.

The articles discusses about the possibility of renewable energy taking over nuclear power in the UK by 2018. Considering the current state of growth, renewable energy would be the source of power for one in 10 British homes by 2015. Wind energy issue has always been hot in the British politics, John Hayes, conservative energy minister has been an outspoken critic of the wind farms. Despite the opposition shown by some just politicians against wind power, there was a rise in the amount of onshore wind capacity approved in 2011 for the first time since 2008.Renewable energy space is also quite critical to the overall economy of the county, in 2011 there were at least 137,000 people involved in the sector, with a further 654,500 jobs in ancillary industries.