Lecture 1: Global Environmental Issues
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This is the first lecture for the module FN0449 Corporate Social Responsibility for Multi-Nationals. The module forms part of the MSc Business with International Management at Newcastle Business School
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Lecture 1: Global Environmental Issues
- 1. Click to edit Master title style Click to edit Master subtitle style 19/01/2015 1 FN0449 Corporate Social Responsibility for Multinationals
- 2. Aims of the Module 1. To introduce corporate social responsibility within an international business context 2. To investigate the conduct of multi-national organisations within this context 3. To critically examine accountability, transparency and CSR artefacts 4. To critically examine ethical issues facing organisations
- 3. Your Tutors…. Dr. Kirsty Abrahams CCE1 340 0191 227 4389 kirsty.abrahams@northumbria.ac.uk Kirsty.d.abrahams@northumbria.ac.uk
- 4. Your Tutors…. Dr. Alex Hope Senior Lecturer in Business Ethics CCE1 248 0191 227 3039 alex.hope@northumbria.ac.uk @DrSustainable www.drsustainable.com
- 5. Click to edit Master title style Click to edit Master subtitle style 19/01/2015 5 FN0449 Lecture 1: Global Environmental Issues
- 6. Content What are the key social, economic and environmental issues facing society? Global Inequality and Energy Security Climate Change Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss
- 7. What is it Climate Change?
- 8. How do we know its happening? NASA – Six Decades of a Warming Earth – Available at: http://youtu.be/gaJJtS_WDmI
- 10. Why is it happening? Illustration courtesy NASA Earth Science Enterprise.
- 11. Is this our fault? “Human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history. Recent climate changes have had widespread impacts on human and natural systems. Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia…” IPCC 5th Assessment Report 2014 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the number of lead authors who worked on the full report. the number of contributing authors to the full report. the number of expert reviewers of the full report. the number of scientific publications cited in the full report. the number of comments made on the full report by the group of expert reviewers. the consensus amongst climate experts and in the literature that humans are causing global warming. The scientific evidence on this question is overwhelming.
- 12. OK. So what? Source: Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change 2006
- 13. What can we do about it? Mitigation • Energy Efficiency measures • Low carbon energy supply • Change of agriculture and forestry practices • Changes in consumer behavior • Changes in resource use • Geo-engineering Adaptation • Improve resilience of social and material infrastructure • Improve water resource management • Invest in agriculture, forestry and fisheries • Estimate and prepare for future disease burdens • Manage existing environmental threats Policy options on Climate Change
- 14. Global Inequality and Energy Security
- 15. Global Inequality and Energy Security Over 1 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day Over 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 a day 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world) 640 million live without adequate shelter 400 million have no access to safe water
- 16. Global Inequality and Energy Security The Human Development Index "Human Development Report 2014 – "Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience"". HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- 17. Global Inequality and Energy Security • Poverty is one of the primary causes of environmental destruction • Poor people cannot in their present state practice sustainable development • If much of the environmental problem is poverty, then eliminating poverty becomes key to saving the environment.
- 18. Global Inequality and Energy Security
- 19. Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss
- 20. Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss How do we know its happening?
- 21. Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss Why is it happening?
- 22. Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss What are the implications?
- 23. Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss What are the implications?
- 24. Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss What are the implications?
- 25. Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss What can we do about it? • Protecting Areas • Preventing Species Introductions • Informing/Educating • Climate Change Mitigation • Sustainable Development
- 26. Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss Finite Resources Population Growth Growing Middle Class =
- 27. Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss
- 28. Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss
- 29. Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss About 200 years ago, each human had the equivalent of 24 football fields of land and freshwater resources. Today, each human has three fields and in 40 years it will be less than two On current trends, over the next 20 years humans will use 40% more water than they do now Forty-four million people were driven into poverty by rising food prices in the second half of 2010 It takes 2,400 litres of water to produce a hamburger and 11,000 litres to make a pair of jeans Sources: McKinsey, Homo Sapiens Foundation, World Health Organisation, Protected Water Fund It took 130,000 years for the earth's population to reach 800 million in about 1780. Currently, almost 800 million are added every 10 years
- 30. Global Inequality and Energy Security Reliance on foreign sources of energy Energy demand from advancing developing countries Environmental issues, in particular climate change Energy insecurity risks fueling conflict
- 31. Global Inequality and Energy Security
- 32. Global Inequality and Energy Security Geo-political issues
- 33. Global Inequality and Energy Security The world’s top ten oil reserves holders (2012) Venezuela 18% Saudi Arabia 16% Canada 11%Iran 9% Iraq 9% Kuwait 6% United Arab Emirates 6% Russia 5% Libya 3% Nigeria 2% Rest of the world 15%
- 34. Global Inequality and Energy Security Solutions? Resource diversification Supply Chain Optimization Efficiency Improvements Changes in consumer behavior Demand reduction
- 35. Conclusion What are the key social, economic and environmental issues facing society? Global Inequality and Energy Security Climate Change Resource Depletion and Biodiversity Loss
- 36. Take away TASK! What does all this mean for businesses?....
- 37. References • Barrow, C.J. (2006) Environmental Management for Sustainable Development 2nd ed. Oxon: Routledge • Brundtland, G.H., (1987) Our Common Future: The World Commission on Environment and Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Colantonio, A., (2007) Social Sustainability: An Exploratory Analysis of its Definition, Assessment methods, Metrics and Tools, 2007/01: EIBURS Working Paper Series, European Investment Bank. Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development, Oxford Brooks University. • Desai, P (2010) ‘One Planet Communities: A real-life guide to sustainable living’, Wiley: Chichester. • Goodland, R., Herman, D. (1996) ‘Environmental Sustainability: Universal and Non- Negotiable’, Ecological Applications 6 pp. 1002-1017. • IISD (2011) What is Sustainable Development?, International Institute for Sustainable Development. Available at: www.iisd.org/sd/
- 38. References • Khalili, N.R. (2011) Practical Sustainability: From Grounded Theory to Emerging Strategies. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. • Nunan et al (2002) ‘Poverty and the Environment: Measuring the Links’ Department for International Development. Environment Policy Department Issue Paper No.2. Available at: http://www.unep.org/civil_society/GCSF8/pdfs/pov_env_measuringlinks.pdf • Pachauri, R.K. and Reisinger, A. (Eds.) (2007) Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Available at: http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/contents.html • TEEB (2009) The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for National and International Policy Makers – Summary: Responding to the Value of Nature 2009. Available at: http://www.teebweb.org/ForPolicymakers/tabid/1019/Default.aspx • Winstone, R., Bolton, P. & Gore, D. (2007) Energy Security. House of Commons Library Research Paper 07/42. Available at: www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2007/rp07-042.pdf
Editor's Notes
- Global warming and climate change refer to an increase in average global temperatures. This is caused primarily by increases in “greenhouse” gases such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s surface; In turn, the earth radiates energy back into space; Some atmospheric gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse; These gases are therefore known as greenhouse gases; The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature on Earth as certain gases in the atmosphere trap energy. A warming planet thus leads to a change in climate which can affect weather in various ways.
- This visualization shows how global temperatures have risen from 1950 through the end of 2013. The visualization shows a running five-year average global temperature, as compared to a baseline average global temperature from 1951-1980.
- There are 9 indicators that would be expected to increase in a warming world (and they are), and 5 indicators would be expected to decrease (and they are): Sea level rise - Global average sea level rose at an average rate of 1.8 [1.3 to 2.3]mm per year over 1961 to 2003 and at an average rate of about 3.1 [2.4 to 3.8]mm per year from 1993 to 2003. Whether this faster rate for 1993 to 2003 Sea Ice - Since 1979, sea ice extent in summer has fallen by around 30 per cent, according to satellite data.
- Throughout Earth’s history the climate has varied, sometimes considerably. Past warming does not automatically mean that today’s warming is therefore also natural. Recent warming, has been shown to be due to human industrialization processes. In addition to the natural fluxes of carbon through the Earth system, anthropogenic (human) activities, particularly fossil fuel burning and deforestation, are also releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. When we mine coal and extract oil from the Earth’s crust, and then burn these fossil fuels for transportation, heating, cooking, electricity, and manufacturing, we are effectively moving carbon more rapidly into the atmosphere than is being removed naturally, ultimately causing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations to increase. Also, by clearing forests to support agriculture, we are transferring carbon from living biomass into the atmosphere. The result is that humans are adding ever-increasing amounts of extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Because of this, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are higher today than they have been over the last half-million years or longer. The other difference between the natural carbon cycle and human-induced climate change is that the latter is rapid. This means that ecosystems have less chance of adapting to the changes that will result and so the effects felt will be worse and more dramatic it things continue along the current trajectory.
- The IPCC Is a scientific group set up in 1988 by two divisions of the United Nations. The goal was to form a body that would provide policymakers with trusted, cutting-edge information about climate change. The IPCC assesses the body of published climate science, highlights the most important findings, and shares its findings in assessment reports available to anybody who cares to read them
- The key terms in the response to climate change are Mitigation and Adaptation. Climate change mitigation is action to decrease the intensity of radiative forcing in order to reduce the potential effects of global warming. The key is to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere. In contrast adaptation to global warming, involves acting to tolerate the effects of global warming.
- Poverty can be defined as the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support The concept of absolute poverty is that there are minimum standards below which no one anywhere in the world should ever fall. The concept of relative poverty is that, in a rich country such as the UK, there are higher minimum standards below which no one should fall, and that these standards should rise if and as the country becomes richer. Inequality relates partly to the disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. The issue of economic inequality is related to the ideas of equity: equality of outcome and equality of opportunity The two are usually related
- The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, and standard of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is used to determine and indicate whether a country is a developed, developing, or underdeveloped country and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life.[1] The HDI measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development: A long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth. Knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate A decent standard of living, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita Each year, UN member states are listed and ranked according to these measures. Those high on the list often advertise it (e.g., Jean Chrétien, Former Prime Minister of Canada [1]), as a means of attracting talented immigrants (economically, individual capital) or discouraging emigration.
- Poverty is linked to health - To highlight this inequality further, consider that approximately 1 billion people suffer from hunger and some 2 to 3.5 billion people have a deficiency of vitamins and minerals Yet, some 1.2 billion suffer from obesity One billion people live on less than a dollar a day, the official measure of poverty However, half the world — nearly three billion people — lives on less than two dollars a day. Yet, just a few hundred millionaires now own as much wealth as the world’s poorest 2.5 billion people.
- Biological diversity allows a variety of species to all work together to help maintain the environment without costly human intervention. We benefit because the environment sustains us with the variety of resources produced.
- In our eagerness to improve living conditions for the six/7 billion members of our species, we humans are imposing serious threats to the survival of much biodiversity, including many species whose direct value is clearly established. Almost all ecosystems are greatly modified by humans, who transform habitats and exterminate rivals and competitors. Farming land Increase 1900 - 1980 Sub-Saharan Africa + 204 Latin America + 330 South Asia + 51 China+ 51 South-East Asia + 267 North America + 53 Europe1- 5 Ex-USSR + 58 rates of extinction are now estimated to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times greater than in the recent past Tropical forests are being destroyed at the rate of 0.8 to 2.0%
- The increasing world population means more mouths to feed. In many parts of the world, natural habitats are being replaced with farmland to grow crops for food. Some countries such as South Korea, China, UAE and Saudi Arabia are seeking to use land in Tanzania and other African nations to cultivate crops to meet domestic demand. Some natural habitats are being lost due to changes in climate brought about by global warming. The issues surrounding energy security which we will discuss in a few slides time mean that nations are increasingly looking to cultivate energy crops - crops that can be used to produce ethanol of biodiesel for fuel for automobiles, or biomass for fuelling power stations. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported that, globally, up to 30 per cent of species are at increasing risk of extinction, whereas approximately 15 to 40 per cent of ecosystems are being affected by climate change. Climatic factors can affect biodiversity directly and indirectly. Direct effects are mostly related to temperature and precipitation changes that affect individual organisms, populations, species distribution, and ecosystem compositions and functions.
- A healthy biodiversity provides a number of natural services for everyone: Ecosystem services, such as - Protection of water resources, Soils formation and protection, Nutrient storage and recycling, Pollution breakdown and absorption, Contribution to climate stability, Maintenance of ecosystems, Recovery from unpredictable events Biological resources, such as – Food, Medicinal resources and pharmaceutical drugs, Wood products, Ornamental plants, Breeding stocks, population reservoir, Future resources, Diversity in genes, species and ecosystems, Social benefits, such as - Research, education and monitoring, Recreation and tourism Cultural values
- The cost of replacing these (if possible) would be extremely expensive. It therefore makes economic and development sense to move towards sustainability.. It was noted earlier that ecosystems provide many services to us, for free. Although some dislike the thought of trying to put an economic value on biodiversity (some things are just priceless), there have been attempts to do so in order for people to understand the magnitude of the issue: how important the environment is to humanity and what costs and benefits there can be in doing (or not doing) something.
- There are several important ways in which humans can slow biodiversity loss, although there is no way to bring back the species that have already gone extinct. Protecting Areas Creating protected areas where human activity is limited is the best way to prevent deforestation and exploitation of organisms and the resources they need to survive. In order to truly make a difference, much planning needs to go into the creation of a protected area. It needs to consider all elements of the ecosystem it is trying to protect, so that it isn’t too small. It needs to include all resources that are utilized by its inhabitants; for example, leaving out a stream where half of the mammals go to drink would not make a protected area very effective. Preventing Species Introductions It is often much easier and less expensive to prevent a problem from developing in the first place than to try to fix it once it occurs. This is the case with invasive species, which can wreak havoc when introduced to ecosystems that aren’t prepared to deal with them. Many governments prohibit bringing foreign plants and animals into their countries without authorization; some even go so far as to disinfect landing planes and the shoe-bottoms of people on them. Informing / Educating Education is a powerful tool, and the more people know about biodiversity loss, the more they will be prepared to help slow it. Spreading the word about detrimental human effects on plants and animals can encourage people to change their ways and effect changes to preserve biodiversity. Slowing Climate Change Climate change is the documented cause of several extinctions that we know about, and has likely caused hundreds of species to go extinct about which we may never know. Any efforts as individuals, organizations, or governments, to slow current human-caused global warming is a step towards slowing biodiversity loss. Promoting Sustainability Sustainable agriculture is much better for the environment than grazing and cropping that rely on clearing swathes of forest or field.
- The math just does not add up… The current global population stands at just over 7 billion and is increasing rapidly. It took 130,000 years for the earths population to reach 800 million in around 1780. Currently almost 800 million are added every 10 years About 200 years ago each human had the equivalent of 24 football fields of land and freshwater resources – today we have three fields – in 40 years it will be 2. By 2030 there will be three billion more middle class consumers in the global economy
- PEAK OIL - Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline M. King Hubbert created and first used the models behind peak oil in 1956 to accurately predict that United States oil production would peak between 1965 and 1970.[1] His logistic model, now called Hubbert peak theory, and its variants have described with reasonable accuracy the peak and decline of production from oil wells, fields, regions, and countries,[2] and has also proved useful in other limited-resource production-domains. According to the Hubbert model, the production rate of a limited resource will follow a roughly symmetrical logistic distribution curve (sometimes incorrectly compared to a bell-shaped curve) based on the limits of exploitability and market pressures. Many academics predict that this peak has already occurred – or will occur by the year 2015. The average cost of drilling for oil has doubled over the past decade
- The same is true of gas (2020) and coal (2025).
- Demand for water over the next 30 years is projected to rise by almost a half at a time when the groundwater table in many regions of the world is falling and large areas are suffering from shortages due to drought, large-scale irrigation, pollution, dams and even war. Despite being the world's most precious and increasingly scarce resource, it is incredibly cheap, and in many parts of the world, free. Correcting this price anomaly would have huge consequences for businesses. More than a quarter of profits of the world's biggest companies would be wiped out if water was priced to reflect its value, as it must be.
- Recent years and months have seen increasing attention being paid to the issue of energy security. There are a number of concerns and fears such as (though not limited to): Reliance on foreign sources of energy Geopolitics (such as supporting dictatorships, rising terrorism, “stability” of nations that supply energy) Energy needs of poorer countries, and demands from advancing developing countries such as China and India Economic efficiency versus population growth debate Environmental issues, in particular climate change Renewables and other alternative energy sources Energy insecurity combined with other global issues risks fueling conflict, repeating past mistakes in history.
- Changing oil demands
- Oil and other commodity prices are affected by global geo-political issues
- Where is the oil? – unstable economies?