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Environmental issues are interconnected with political, social, and economic factors, requiring a collaborative approach to address the climate crisis. Multi-National Corporations play a significant role in environmental degradation, often prioritizing profit over responsibility, which necessitates government intervention and public accountability. The urgency of climate change demands a unified global response, as the consequences of inaction will affect future generations.

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19 views5 pages

English

Environmental issues are interconnected with political, social, and economic factors, requiring a collaborative approach to address the climate crisis. Multi-National Corporations play a significant role in environmental degradation, often prioritizing profit over responsibility, which necessitates government intervention and public accountability. The urgency of climate change demands a unified global response, as the consequences of inaction will affect future generations.

Uploaded by

divyanshisheel
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Environmental issues are not mere issues connected with environment, but a

broader perspective connected with our political, social, economic cultural


policies and practices where Everything you could imagine falls under this
‘system,’ ranging from killing trees, using plastic , human-wildlife conflict due
to so called infrastructure development and so on. Our mission must be to
encourage an interdisciplinary view of the topic. We need to look at our
environmental crisis as a crisis involving people of all colour, all income
groups, all nations and communities. Only if everyone comes to the table
together to fix the systemic issues that have gone unchecked for years can we be
equipped to start a fight against climate change.

Over the years, Environmental issues like climate change have become one of
the foremost issues facing humankind, which has demanded urgent attention.
However, climate change is not a phenomenon which can be understood or
dealt with in isolation, and a multi-dimensional approach is required to
understand its causes, its implications and to develop means and measures
which may help humanity to effectively prevent adverse, often irreversible,
changes to the environment. What we see today is the ‘North-South Divide’, i.e.
the difference in approach toward climate change between the developed
countries and the lesser developed or developing countries.

Multi-National Corporations (“MNCs”) are able to grow and operate seamlessly


across borders only due to their ability to maximise profits, exploit the natural
resources and ensure the bare necessary compliance with environmental
regulations. Some MNCs have adopted pro-environment Corporate Social
Responsibility (“CSR”) measures as a mandatory part of their business
operations due to the reduced cost of operation, enhanced public image, lesser
governmental interference etc. Yet, the same are not sufficient to ensure that
MNCs are responsible towards their duty to prevent environmental degradation.
MNCs can be held accountable inter alia through mandatory public reporting of

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their environmental performance. Eco-Efficiency Concept proposed by the
World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Equator Principles,
Sector Specific Norms, International Codes of Conduct are some of the brewing
concepts. Proactive role of NGOs, legal mechanism, the threat of litigation also
plays an important role in ensuring the accountability of MNCs in
environmental matters.

The MNCs play a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of countries,


especially in the developing world and many argue that they have a fiduciary
duty towards the society. With increasing industrialisation and globalisation,
there has been a steady decline in the public ownership of natural resources in
favour of private use. Furthermore, responding positively to environmental
concerns is an important external factor.

While some MNCs have adopted CSR measures to play a responsible role in
protecting the environment, most of them have continued with the belief that
their primary goal is to generate profits for their shareholders and with respect
to the environment they are only obliged to follow the law of the land.
Consequently, governments have stepped in and imposed various forms of
environmental taxes and levies, to ensure that MNCs are compelled to act
positively towards the environment. The revenue collected from such taxes can
be pooled together at national level and International level by the concerned
government which can then be used to fund research into new technologies to
protect against environmental degradation.

The right to a clean and healthy environment is universally seen as an essential


fundamental right. However, most often, vulnerable and oppressed societies are
denied this basic right due environmental degradation owning to multiple
causes.

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Our biosphere – the thin film of life on the surface of our planet – is being
destabilized by temperature change. On land, rains are altering, extreme weather
events are more common, and ecosystems more flammable. Associated
changes, including flooding, sea level rise, droughts and storms, are having
hugely damaging impacts on biodiversity and its ability to support us.

In the ocean, heat waves and acidification are stressing organisms and
ecosystems already under pressure due to other human activities, such as
overfishing and habitat fragmentation.

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) landmark


report showed that extreme heat waves that would usually happen every 50
years are already happening every decade. If warming is kept to 1.5C these will
happen approximately every five years.
Five per cent of animal species are at risk of extinction from 2C warming,
climbing to 16% with a 4.3C rise.
It is clear that we cannot solve environmental issues and climate crises in
isolation – we can either solve them together or we can solve neither. The
reason behind must be understood by each and everyone deeply. When we look
and think in isolation then the issues don’t seem to be daunting. Like at any
moment its rising temperatures across the world which is the point of discussion
and at other times natural calamities may be our cause of concern that too for
any specific country (which is affected at the moment) in the world. What’s
happening in one part of the world will happen in another part later and
eventually in every part of the word and that is the saddest part of the story
unfortunately. And we must not forget that in the present age of technological
advancements resulting in removal of barriers of geographical boundaries, the
combined and consolidated efforts by all nations and all their citizens are far
easier than any other time in the past.

3
It is not like no one is thinking about the environment and /or noting is being
done to protect it but the efforts need to be maximized that too as a holistic
approach. The pressure imposed by NGOs worldwide also plays a critical role
in checking the anti-environmental activities, especially in developing countries,
where governments are unable to frame policies to protect environment due to
financial and other considerations. Further, NGOs spread awareness among the
public regarding the environmental impact of the activities of MNCs.

The poem “Keeping Quiet” written by Pablo Neruda also discusses the need of
maintaining peace by being quiet and harmless to the humans, animals and
environment. It is suggested by the author that we are required to stop and
introspect ourselves and our policies and practices if we are contributing to
protect the environment or to degrade it???.

Statement of Purpose
To help everyone understand that environmental issues today are on the verge
of becoming global emergency soon and the action plan to tackle it, must be
based on holistic approach as we cannot solve environmental issues and climate
crises in isolation – we can either solve them together or we can solve neither
and in the worst scenario, the generations to come will suffer.
Bibliography
1) NCERT English Text Book

2) https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/01/cannot-tackle-crises-2020-

isolation/

3) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/14/five-biggest-

threats-natural-world-how-we-can-stop-them-aoe

4) TerraGreen (a monthly digital magazine on environmental issues)

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5) https://www.dw.com/en/eco-india-the-environment-magazine/program-

45215665

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