Globalization and sustainable development is regarded as a contemporary issue. Globalization which immensely focuses on exchange of information and resources is relying on the paradigm of development and prosperity. More and more emphasis is being given to ecosystems and establishment of transparent environmental, economic and social transformation phases. There exist challenges to balance the practices of globalization along with sustainable development. However experts and leaders are in the opinion that globalization is an important phenomenon which can be used for rationalizing developing and under developing regions of the world.
Globalization and Sustainable Development: The dynamic role of globalization has enhanced the notion of free market access. During the half century income factor has increased by five and trade factor by eleven. In fact most of the developed, transition and developing countries are capitalizing on FDA (foreign direct investment). During the past decade FDA has increased by 28% on yearly basis however the global GDP has shown improvement by just 4%. Furthermore OECD countries especially Asian countries and Latin America have benefited by FDA. Both globalization and sustainable development are vigorously influencing each other.
It has shown diversified impact on different economic factors. Poverty and Inequality: Due to economic globalization different national economies are transforming into a single block. Nevertheless there still exist the subject of inequality and poverty. However it was highlighted that the living standard of poor has also enhanced due to economic integration and collaboration. Alongside inequality has shown the nastiest results due to the prevailing globalization. There exist disproportionate distribution between the rich and poor. Environmental issues:
Environmental issues has remained the prior concern for economic management as compare to globalization since these issues prevailed within a particular timeframe and gained political significance. Either the realm is related to economic expansion or open markets or green box subsidies there exists essential environmental concerns. Both UN commission and UNCED emphasized on the importance of sustainable development in order to cope up with the challenges of globalization like environmental safeguard measures, lessening inequality and poverty, human wellbeing and the paradigm of economic development.
Experts believe that if sustainable development is neglected then one cannot engage in an integrated and detailed policy decision making process and such policies will benefit few stakeholders. Still issues related to border measures in GATT, SPS and TBT measures, AoA, GATS and TRIPS prevail in the Doha agenda and both developed and developing countries stand separately and not a soul is heading towards negotiation resulting into devastating impact on sustainable development. Different (MEA) multilateral environmental agreements are taking place.
WTO and Environmental concerns: WTO states that the environmental concern still remains the part of cross-cutting issues. However several actions have been taken by the institute. It is being insisted that environmental agreements should be the part of multilateral trading system. Most awful cases include the Chernobyl disaster which took place in Russia affected the entire Europe, Antarctica melting issue, Venezuela factories located near boarder which fling wastage into river water and it enters the premises of other countries etc.
These instances are having an impact on global treaties and agreements between countries as well among global MNCs. Nevertheless several green provisions have been developed. The most prominent paradigms include the following: • Asbestos Case: In 1996 France banned the import of Asbestos from Canada and claimed that such products results into stern respiratory disorders. The global movement was launched against the product in 2003. Today more than 30 countries have imposed ban on the import of Asbestos. However developing countries are still using the product since the alternatives are quite expensive.
• Shrimp-turtle case: In 1998 United States banned the import of shrimps from Thailand, Malaysia and Pakistan and claimed that they used inappropriate technology to harvest shrimps due to which sea turtles are caught in the net which is threatening their lives. United States imposed the policy that they will import shrimps from the country which will use TED (turtle excluder devices) in their nets. Conversely United Stated lost the case since it violated the rule of MFN (most favorite nation) of WTO. However it was a proactive approach to protect the life of species.
• Tuna fish-Dolphin case: In 1991 United States banned the import of tuna fish from Mexico and claimed that the country was using inappropriate tools to harvest tuna fish and dolphins got entrapped in the nets and died. Unfortunately United States lost the case. Due to such attempts globalization is becoming an important consideration where countries are insisting on eco-labeling goods. A road towards indigenous development and prosperity: It was also acknowledged that globalization has influenced indigenous development and has provided proper directions to the society.
Furthermore it has promoted the principles of empowerment and liberation where there prevails market freedom and government intervention has lessened to a certain extent. This is termed as positive development which will enhance the quality of education, wellbeing and economic more emphasis was given to neo-liberalism and equitable power sharing. Some of the successful examples are Canada and New Zealand who considered globalization as a source of becoming competitive and experienced the rethinking process however there are examples of failed in the arena as in the case of South America.
The new North and the new South: According to one statement sustainable development is highly correlated with neoliberal globalization. It emphasizes on the utilization of resources in an ethical manner and safeguard resources for the future generation needs rather than compromising or imposing obligations on them. It highlights the concept of qualitative measures along with quantitative measures and accentuates on structural changes. Due to globalization oodles of communist institutes are moving towards transition economies.
A new bipolar world has been created and globalization has taken a new pave. One group comprises of social group either dwelling in north or south who have highly benefited from globalization known as ‘the new North’ while other living in either north or south comprises of majority however they do not gain benefits from the shit known as ‘the new South’. This has resulted into inequality. According to ILO (international labor organization) income inequality has increased dynamically since 1990. An upheaval impact on Society:
Prominent terms like Green Capitalism or Green Market Economy are being used to expand the concept of sustainability. It was stated that systems have failed to implement proper rules and regulations in case of green house effects. Institutes are considering different measures to control pollution and they are focusing on alternatives to utilize energy and other resources in an efficient manner. In reality there exists emission of hazardous gases, salinity, devastating impact of acid rain, worsened situation of forests and many more. In additional industrialization is being accused for all these issues.
One critical analysis reveals that although society and the impact of these crises are highly interrelated however major emphasis is being given to society and the organization of the entire system i. e. the socio-economic system. Chinese economy issues: According to Qingzhi's paper China will become the largest producer of green house gases and it will surpass United States till 2010. Currently it is the largest producer of sulphur dioxide throughout the globe. It was also stated that the water in river and lakes is rated as grade V which is not suitable for agriculture or industrial usage.
WHO (World Health Organization) reported that about 750, 000 people die annually in China due to air pollution, water pollution, cancer and other diseases. Impact on trade rules: WTO highlighted that both developed and developing economies stand apart and do not negotiate with each other. Due to several unethical practices being adopted by developed nation, the intact global economy has been affected and an economic collapse and severe crisis can be seen. A separate G23 economy is developed and decided to approach against developed economies. Some of the issues are as follows:
• The case of umber box and blue box subsidy remains a major dilemma. Developed countries specifically United States and European Union give export subsidy to their farmers due to which farmers from developing nations could not compete in the international market. However dumping is not allowed in the provision of WTO even then it is being used by them. It only allows least developed countries with per capita income less than $1000 to give export subsidy. Due the issue different problems have been stimulated related to poverty and inequality. • Anti-dumping and protectionism remain other important issues.
In reality these countries use such tactics to protect their domestic economy. It happened with Pakistan when Egypt imposed anti-dumping duty on the import of match boxes. However no valid point was found and the issue was resolved after 5 years. • Several concerns related to SPS measures have affected the global trade. Developing countries involvement in different inappropriate practices regarding poultry farming is one of the major issues. They insist that the cost of production will increase while adopting proper practices and such issues are resulting into overwhelming impact on health and safety measures.
• Several countries consider TBT measures like ISO standards as a major barrier towards global trade. Abandoning such practices has resulted into diversified environmental issues as well as violation of labor standards. • Different multinational and global pharmaceutical companies impose huge cost of research and development into final product prices. It has affected least developing countries as it happened in sub-Saharan region of Africa. Moreover domestic companies are violating intellectual property rights and imitation is taking place. The health measures remain the major realm.
• Due to the dynamic impact of globalization it is being questioned that why companies are using rules of origin since there exist brand value and brand names. Different countries specifically China has double standards and adopts low quality standards in the manufacturing of products for developing countries. • Corporate Citizenship and human rights movements are playing an important role in globalization and sustainability development. Previously Nike was giving football orders to Sega Company located in Sialkot, Pakistan. Later on it was found that Sega Company was using child labor.
Nike canceled the agreement and Sega Company got bankrupt. The global company outsourced the project to another company known as Silver Star. Nike developed a new code of conduct which was made mandatory for its suppliers to follow. ILO is playing an important role in the wellbeing of the society. • There exists the issue of tariff peak and tariff acceleration. The developed countries impose high tariff on finished products and charge low tariff on raw material and least developing countries are forced to sell raw material rather than manufacturing their own finished good products.
Previously Ivory Coast which produces 40% of the cocoa sold all the raw material to developed countries since they charge a very low tariff in case of cocoa and transforms it into very expensive chocolate out of which few cents goes to farmers. Fairtrade foundation came up with the solution. Today it monitors different trade flows and cooperate directly with farmers, provides them premium prices which is invested in quality education for children and development of health centers. Today Kit Kat, McDonalds, Unilever, Starbucks and many more are the part of Fairtrade Foundation.
Globalization and sustainable development has provided lots of advantages as well regarding trade liberalization. Developed nations are assisting developing economies in case of technology, management, expertise sharing, training, understanding negotiation tactics, implementation of policies etc. Due to globalization lots of women are doing paid work in developing economies. Conclusion: The realm reveals that globalization has brought the paradigm shift. However challenges exist in order to create a balance between the two.
Sustainable development does not rely on power instead it focuses on growth, proper policies, establishment of formal institutions, efficient and effective utilization of resources. It must be stated that rather than focusing on output institutes must focus on developing and establishing processes on long-term basis to create an eco-friendly growth economy. Bibliography: Vaziri, M and Rassafi, A. A. “An Appraisal of Globalization and Sustainable Development for European Countries. ” Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution 3, no. 1, (2006): 147-152.
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