The Anthropocene: The Politics of a Changing Environment

I watched ‘ Guardians of the Earth ’ at a film screening this week and I have to say, I was slightly overwhelmed. The film focused on the Paris Conference, or COP21, as the ‘last attempt’ to salvage the Earth after 20 years of failed UN climate negotiations. Whilst the film was almost distressing in its highlighting of the complexity and urgency of the situation, the reaching of an agreement left viewers with a glimmer of hope. However, this is not fiction and the Paris Agreement might just be a big hint of the proactive international governance I was discussing in relation to the Arctic. As I said last week , I’ll therefore be having a look at what exactly COPs are, the problems they’ve faced, and why Paris might just be different Figure 1 : The leaders of COP21 celebrate after the passing of the Paris Agreement.  The COP journey to Paris has not been a smooth one. The Kyoto Protocol, for example, which emerged from the 1977 Kyoto COP, was  heralded as a s...

“It is all about politics. Climate change is the hardest political problem the world has ever had to deal with. It is a prisoner’s dilemma, a free-rider problem, and the tragedy of the commons all rolled into one” This quote from the Economist  explicitly links politics with climate change and indeed, the two frequently cross paths. C limate policy is an  increasingly prominent topic within foreign policy , yet is also  one of the most contentious . In light of this, and in preparation for next week, I want to take a quick look at whether international bodies really are the best way forward.   Criticism of such bodies often centre around their  lack of sovereign power  to implement agreements. It is therefore  essential that they are self-enforcing , failing in this and they risk non-compliance. Furthermore, global agreements are often hindered by the ‘ slowest boat ’ rule, as universal approval is needed for risk of losing legitimacy. ...

A post this weekend on John McDonnell’s Facebook page (don’t judge my political views - I'm a UCL student after all!) revealed Labour’s plan to put “climate change at the centre of [their] economic policy”. Labour is clearly challenging the Conservative Party to move climate change issues higher on the agenda. Whether this is the proactive governance that I'll be focusing on throughout the blog or political chatter to gain a few points is yet to be seen. We can only hope that Wednesday’s budget responds to these calls for environmental protection and that UK politics continues to progress in matters of conservation.   John McDonnell | Tackling Climate Change Will Be Labour's Mora... In next week's Budget, the Conservatives could do what the next Labour Government will and put climate change at the very centre of economic policy making. Posted by John McDonnell on Saturday, 18 November 2017

The melting of Arctic sea ice is a phenomenon many of you will be familiar with. However, you may not be aware of the impact of these changes on international politics. The Arctic has long been a site of political contestation , being of key strategic importance during the Cold War. Its location between the (then) Soviet Union and the USA   led to an initial ‘battle’   over its control. However, as ice cover has receded in recent decades, the race for Arctic resources has taken off. Satellite images from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Figure 1 highlight how dramatic Arctic sea retreat has been since 1979, with an average 12% reduction per decade . Anthropogenically linked climate change is causing profound changes in Arctic ecosystems, a region more sensitive than most due to complex feedback mechanisms known as ‘polar amplification’ . Temperatures have risen 1.1°C within the last 50 years , twice the rate of the rest of the globe, and with up ...