Is Climate Change Best Mitigated by Deglobalization?

Globalization can be identified as the process of enhancing integration and interdependence in the international contexts in social, cultural, economic and in terms of communication, infrastructure, exchange of ideas and world view. On the contrary, deglobalization is the processes of restructuring the world political and economic systems so as to transform the global economy from the needs of international corporations to build it around the nations, communities and peoples needs. Over the years, these two concepts have raised controversial debates. Theories and models such as diffusion model have been put forward to elucidate globalization and deglobalization and how they can be applied in the mitigation of the climate change (Bello, 2002). Although Globalization has been used in overcoming the tyranny of distance through the revolutionary of information and technology, it has created adverse impacts on climatic changes. Deglobalization is, therefore, the best measure of mitigating the climatic change.

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International corporations took the advantage of globalization to exploit the lands, waters, and forests in developing nations. Exploitation of the rich biodiversity which was crucial for the survival of the residents has exposed them to harsh environmental conditions besides leaving them poorer. In addition, exploitation of natural resources through devastating and excessive extraction of minerals, indiscriminative fishing and logging, a massive conversion of forests and productive farmlands to industrial parks, huge plantations, and golf courses has also become a threat to nature and the ecosystem (Guerrero, 2014). Globalization encouraged international corporations to conduct excessive economic activities in pursuit of robust economic growth that eventually destroyed the capacity of the natural environment to support life due to the resulting climate change. The matter of climate change has become a significant challenge facing humanity, and the only way to counter it is to reverse the globalization processes through deglobalization.

Globalization has benefited only the rich few countries and other developing nations whose economies have emerged rapidly, such as the BRICS countries that comprise of Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. In most of the countries, the issue of inequality and poverty has continued to increase. Indeed, poverty and inequality have been exacerbated by the harsh environmental conditions that have resulted from the exploitation of resources by global corporations (Heine & Thakur, 2011). For instance, the states of underdeveloped and developing nations gradually lose their powers as they spend more to curb the effects of globalization and to regulate societies. Although these developing nations have had the least contribution to climate change, they suffer more extreme weather changes, unusually longer droughts and the melting of ice that cause excessive flooding in the coastal regions.

Considering the magnitude of climate change that has been caused by globalization, it deglobalization should be employed as a mitigation tool for climate change as well as a tool that can build sustainable economies with the least harm to the environment. For instance, the Paris Climate Change Conference that was held in November 2015 suggested that the world needs a model that will help to counter the challenged that has been posed by climate change (Change, 2016). The proposed model of growth and development should be safe and beneficial to all, unlike the globalization concept that is benefiting the rich few. The Paris Climate Change Conference is working with similar targets to those of Kyoto Protocol but with the intention of mitigation and establishment of economic development at national levels. As the pioneer of deglobalization Bello, puts it, those are the exact measure of globalization and which should be embraced to overcome and mitigate the climate change challenges (Bello, 2013).

Even though the governments of the underdeveloped and developing nations are involved in the formation of the trade and global trade treaties, they lose their control of the international organizations upon the agreement to work with them. The governments of these nations end up failing to support their peoples interest to protect their natural resources such as land, culture, forests and water. The peoples interest clashes with those of the international corporations, but the residents lose because the global corporations are very powerful. Their governments also fail them as they are directly limited by the commitments that they do with the international bodies (Guerrero, 2014). The international organizations, therefore, violate human and environmental rights of the natives, and they go scot-free because of the agreement that they force the government and which favors their interests. Globalization should be employed appropriately and with all stakeholders joining hands to enhance effectively measure of climate change mitigation.

Globalization has had significant impacts on the development of world economies. Most of the developing nations can appreciate the role of globalization in the enhancement of economic sustainability and technology diffusion. Also, globalization has encouraged the social interactions, and exchange of cultures, thereby offsetting adverse effects such as racism. The exchange of ideas that is brought by globalization has also led to the booming of the economies in most of the developing nations.

References

Bello, W. F. (2013). Capitalism's last stand?: Deglobalization in the age of austerity. London, Zed Books.

Bello, W. F. (2002). Deglobalization: new ideas for running the world's economy. New York, Zed Books.

Change, U. (2016). Paris Climate Change Conference - November 2015. [online] Unfccc.int. Available at: http://unfccc.int/meetings/paris_nov_2015/meeting/8926.php [Accessed 25 Jan. 2016].

Guerrero, D. (2014). The Deglobalisation Paradigm: A Critical Discourse on Alternatives. [online] Systemic Alternatives. Available at: http://systemicalternatives.org/2014/07/29/the-deglobalisation-paradigm-a-critical-discourse-on-alternatives/ [Accessed 25 Jan. 2016].

Heine, J., & Thakur, R. C. (2011). The dark side of globalization. New York, United Nations University Press.