Twentieth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Based on 15 years of participant observations in meetings of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the paper highlights a fundamental tension in multilateral environmental negotiations that ultimately prevents nation states from meeting targets set in these arenas. Using specific concrete examples from the deliberations, the paper illustrates the profound commitment to traditional economic growth, both as a means of realizing “development goals” and as a means of achieving positive environmental outcomes. While there is substantial evidence that this is a flawed framework, and while indicators of environmental degradation are demonstrating that things have gotten profoundly worse rather than better, nation-states’ commitments to traditional economic growth pervade the deliberations. Furthermore, critiques of these foundational assumptions are often brought to the table by more marginalized actors such as indigenous peoples and environmental NGOs.

Presenters

Lauren Eastwood
Senior Researcher and Climate and Sustainability Policy Field Leader, Centre for Global Cooperation Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany