Green International Relations: Addressing Global Environmental Issues

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of green international relations, exploring its emergence as a crucial field in contemporary world politics. It delves into the contributions of green international theory in understanding and addressing global environmental issues, such as climate change and environmental degradation. The essay discusses the historical context of environmental concerns, highlighting the shift from a focus on economic and political interests to the prioritization of sustainability. It examines the evolution of green international relations theory, including its connections to realism and liberalism, and the influence of globalization on environmental policies. The essay also explores key concepts like environmental justice, ecological modernization, and the roles of governments, international summits, and treaties in promoting green initiatives. Furthermore, it analyzes the impact of climate change, international cooperation, and the emergence of green political theories on world politics. The essay also discusses the challenges faced by governments and the diverse perspectives on environmental issues, ultimately emphasizing the importance of sustainable development and international collaboration in mitigating environmental risks. This essay provides a valuable resource for students studying international relations, environmental studies, and political science.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
International relations
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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The essay deals with the contribution of green international theory in the understanding
of contemporary world politics. The efforts made to address the global issues concerning the
environment are stated in the essay. Gilpin (2016) stated that environmental problems were never
the focal point of business or political world. This is mainly because of the fact that the idea of a
sustainable development did not take occur in the minds of the people. However, over the years,
maintaining the environmental issues has become the main objective of the people. In this
regard, certain summits like the UN Summit or the Copenhagen treaty of 2000 have emerged as
the political backbone for addressing these issues. The emergence of green international relations
has emerged as one of the branches of international relations that require focus from the
politicians. The continuous emergence of global warming has resulted in the emergence of
strategically making a green international relation to be followed in the world (Baylis, Owens
and Smith, 2017). The essay discusses the emergence of green international relations and the
impact it has on the existing global environment. The ways to address global politics and
international issues have been discussed in the essay.
The emergence of green international relations theory resulted from emergence of the
concept of liberal institutionalism. The two major theories that can be related to the concept
include realism and liberalism (Jackson and Sørensen, 2015). Realism stated the fact that
countries aim to increase self-power by dominating other countries that are inferior to them. On
the other hand, liberalism states that the mutual ties that exist between the countries have reduced
the interests of the nations resulting in the decrease interest between two countries. For example,
with the advent of liberalism there may be political tensions in terms of signing peace treaty
between two neighbouring countries. Green international theory emerges from the relationship
between globalisation and environment. As stated by Kubálková (2015) the advent of

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globalisation has resulted in the increase of mutual relationships between countries. As a result,
the signing of treaties have emerged that contributed to the growth of green international
theories. Various summits such as the United Nations Summit have made considerable efforts to
promote green international theory in the world. By the end of the twentieth century,
environmental degradation became a major cause of concern for the people. The political
influence can help in bringing about changes in the environment and ensure that the global
sustainability factor is well maintained. These issues require strategic planning as the factors that
lead to the cause of degradation of the environment are usually complex, variable and have
intractable characteristic (Adler, 2013).
According to Fierke and Jorgensen (2015), people started to question the causes that lead
to the decay of the environmental and the possible solutions that can be put to effect in order to
prevent these causes. For this, the Government of various countries issued petitions regarding the
environmental policies of the regions. Predictions made by scholars warned about global
catastrophe unless the rapid decay to the environment can be ceased. Fawcett (2016) observed
that the petition for green environment caused a major concern for most people pursuing
humanities and social science as a course of study. In this regard, the emergence of the concept
has drawn the focus of the politicians and has contributed in bringing about changes in the
environment of the regions. The setting up of summits and treaties have been a major step for the
people that have emerged as the starting steps towards maintaining green international relations.
However, only after the 1980s, the voice for green international movement emerged that
provided the loudest voice for creating the movement. These movements also formulated the
emergence of parties that instigated the importance of greenery in the international aspects.

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According to Knutsen (2016), the relationship between environmental justice and
environmental democracy came at two waves for most regions. The first wave highlighted the
ecological irrationality that took place because of excess pollution. This emerged in the form of
states and markets making green theories that highlighted the emergence of grassroots
democracy and ecologically sustainable communities. Both these theories act as an alternative to
one another in order to maintain the ecological balance that is required in the regions. However,
Hill, Smith and Vanhoonacker (2017) observed that the second wave had focused more on the
thinking of the political concepts that can be emerged from the use of the green theory. The
emergence of the green theory has resulted in the emergence of debates within the international
relations of a company. The emergence of environmental injustice is stated as the powerful
nations imposing superiority over the less powerful regions of the world (Booth and Erskine,
2016). For example, often it is seen that most countries dump wastes or conduct nuclear
experiments in the southern part of the world. This results in the imbalance in the environment
thereby causing climate changes in the world. Hence, the thoughts of dominating countries over
the non-dominating countries have emerged as a concept to deal with for the managers.
Environmental justice can be formed with the emergence of moral communities that pay
heed to the factors that are affected by the environmental decay. This may include living beings
as well the natural environment that surrounds the globe. Decisions made by the community and
the participation of citizens that show growing concern for the environment is an asset for
bringing about environmental justice in the world (Burchill et al. 2013). A precautionary
approach needs to be taken to ensure the risk is minimised. In this regard, the concept of
ecological modernisation can be explained in clear terms. The continuous improvement in the
economic composition, environmental regulation and technology can help in degrading the decay

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to the economy. The strength of the domestic regulation can act as a motivator to enhance the
ecological growth of a region. In this regard, the decay to an environment can also prevent the
rapid fluctuations in the climate. The emergence of green political theories and the green
political environment has resulted in the emergence of innovative technologies that affect the
growth of environmental stability in the region. Hence, the green international relation theory
can be broadly analysed keeping in mind the emergence of the theory. The influence of world
politics can also be highlighted as the main contributor to the development of sustainable
business.
Roach, Griffiths and O'Callaghan (2014), the green theory related to international relation
shares certain topics that can be critical in terms of understanding the concept. The green
theorists bring about voices about certain factors that affect the working of the industry. The
concerns include issues raised by Governments, green consumers, and ecological scientists and
so on. The common theme of the concern is the transforming pattern of global trade that can help
to promote sustainable development in the region and in the world. Weber (2013) stated that
green sustainability can be subdivided into two wings namely the IPE wing and the green
cosmopolitan wing. These two subdivisions work together in order to analyse the ecological
problem and articulate new laws related to the protection of economy in the region. The new
concept of international relation has approached the problem of the environment as a new
concern for the people. The political, as well as the wings of international relations, have
challenged the existence of the approaches made by the nationalists. The challenges that have
come into existence include the frequent climate changes. Evidence can be provided about the
effects of climatic change in the lives of the people.

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The effect of climatic change can be dated back from the 1750s until the end of the
Second World War. This is mainly because of the fact that the wars between nations had created
massive disturbance in the climate and environmental factors of the world. It has been noted by
scientists that the continuous exposure to smog and harmful pollutants can cause degradation to
the environment and extinction of the species. In order to contain this, the First Assessment
passed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1990 proposed to achieve a
stabilisation to the greenhouse gas concentration. Despite major changes in the political sphere,
such as the signing of the Kyoto treaty, seeking cooperation from the United States and the
election of President Barrack Obama, nations have failed to come to a point where climate
change can be tackled in the world. According to O'neill (2017), the united effort of the members
of every country needs to come into effect in order to promote climate change in the world. In
2000, the signing of the Copenhagen treaty paves way for an effort to control the fluctuation in
climate. The initiative taken in order to reduce global warming by a minimum of 2 degrees
proved to be an effective and cost-friendly step towards the development of green international
relations. Hence, this is a big step towards maintaining international relations among the
countries and contributes to the effective method by which international relations can be
maintained. It defines the working of the international relations and explains the system in a
broader manner. Recently the UN Summit regarding climate change in 2015, shed light on the
ways by which climate change can be controlled. The agreement proposed to set a limitation to
reduce the impact of climate change by 2 degree Celsius. Within the years 2030 to 2050, zero
emission can be seen as a prospect of addressing the issues that exist in the environment. This
had a significant impact on world politics as most countries volunteered to undertake the notion
set up in the conference.

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The international climate development has been made significant progress towards
maintaining climatic changes in the regions. This can be attributed as a major global issue. The
growth of carbon markets internationally has helped national as well as international level people
to monitor the changes taking place in the climate. However, Sunkel and Inotai (2016) stated that
most of the state Government has faced opposition about the significant growth of the carbon
market. This is mainly because of the unstable nature of carbon extraction that can lead to the
imposition of a tax. This can come as significant costs for those countries that are economically
backward. The fact that the climatic change creates massive issues is an enormous problem that
most Government in the world faces. The response that the politicians and Government received
from the people despite the issues has created a massive diversity among the people (Koutrakos,
2015). The concept of green international relations has brought about hope in the mind of the
people about the sustainability and development of the environment. The green international
relation has offered alternate analysis of the political problem that arises in the world. The new
theories proposed by the green international relations have brought about significant changes in
world politics, as politicians round the world have contributed in assisting the promoting green
international relation and prevent the degradation of environment.
According to Dunne, Kurki and Smith (2013), the green international relation theorists
give importance to the role played by justice in the analysis of the environment, most scholars
are of the opinion that modernisation can be cost-effective and can bring about financial
instability in some countries. Particular emphasis is given to the relationship that is formed
between knowledge and power. The main concern is to improve the communication practices
that exist between the domestic and international climate policymakers. The debate between the
emission of carbon and fuel extraction on the effects on the atmosphere can bring the about

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opposed action in the mind of the people. The global warming challenge can be framed by
alternate policy prescriptions to provide fair and lasting solutions for the Government. Goldstein
and Pevehouse (2014) stated that one of the popular models for measuring the impact of climate
change is the contraction and convergence model developed by researchers in London. The
theory states that a major contraction by the richer countries along with the convergence of the
other countries can provide the atmosphere with the ability to absorb harmful emissions. The
model proposed to provide developing countries with the space to expand as well as facilitate
resources that can help in building the capacity of the country.
In the light of this statement, it can be concluded that green international relation forms
the backbone of the increasing demand for sustainability in the world. The increase of political
powers in the countries and in the industries has created a strong voice for the development of
sustainable business across the regions. The fact that alternate solutions can be provided with the
help of green international relation indicates the effectiveness of the situation. The united effort
of the green political economists and the green normative theorists bring about environmental
justice to the regions of business. The position adopted by the green economists tends to remain
pre-occupied with the resulting change that exists in the environment. The disagreement exists in
the use of carbon markets for restoring sustainability in the economy. While most countries have
accepted the proposal made in the Copenhagen treaty of 2000, some countries have differed from
signing the treaty due to the financial condition of the regions. Thus, the green international
relation can help in bringing about the required development in terms of protecting the
environment. The recent development in the UN Summit has also been effective in addressing
the climatic issues brought about in the regions. Thus, it can be said that the influence of political
power have gradually grown to dominate the emergence of green international relations.

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