Question

Globalization has created advantages for companies and consumers, but it also has resulted in disadvantages for the environment. Write one paragraph to explain the environmental issues globalization can cause and one paragraph to describe global efforts to solve these problems. Include facts and details from the text in your response. << Read Less

Answer 1

One potential environmental issue related to globalization is the inconsistency across countries regarding environmental regulations, and the inefficiencies that this can create. If Country A has strict environmental regulations and enters a free trade agreement with Country B, which has little to no regulations on environment, Country A will probably find it much cheaper to import products from Country B, since its manufacturing sector isn't as limited by environmental regulations. This means that Country A's environmental regulations are no longer as effective in the global sense, because more pollution is generated in Country B to in order provide products to country A.

One way that the global community is seeking to fix this problem is with International Climate Agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Climate Accord, in which each country agrees to limit the amount of pollution (usually measured by the amount of carbon produced), in their own country. These agreements help to reduce the problem described above, since all countries move closer toward playing by the same rules regarding the environment. However, one issue is that it is difficult to keep all countries playing by these rules, as we saw when President Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate agreement.