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Gabrielle Hampton
Professor Rebecca Kaiser
International Relations Theory and Practice
10 November 2015

Global Warming and the International Community

By the end of this century, ocean levels will rise between 7-23 inches. Each year, the
global temperature increases by one degree Fahrenheit. And to make matters worse, more than
one million species have become extinct due to shrinking ecosystems as caused by a warming
planet (Malcolm, Liu, Neilson, Hansen, and Hannah.) Global warming is slowly, but surely,
wreaking havoc on our young, dying planet. Global warming does not just affect one nation, but
the entire population of Earth, making this the international communitys problem. While this
issue has been scientifically proven and is not some phony scheme by the government, many
global super powers, including the United States, deny that human activity has anything to do
with a warming planet. Along with the denial comes the fear of what is to become of our planet
and mankind as we know it. By viewing this ongoing issue through the liberal perspective, I plan
on examining the following points: Who or what has caused global warming, how it has affected
the lives of people across the world, what the international community has done and or will
continue to do to combat this issue, and how particular nations, especially those with higher
international standing, have had a part in both worsening and bettering the situation.
Global warming is the gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth's
atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earths
climate for the worst (Global Warming: News, Facts, Causes & Effects.) It is held that carbon

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dioxide and air pollution from burning fossil fuels have been the largest contributing factors in
this crisis. Overall, these two factors, among others, have caused the warming of our planet, and
the hottest ten years alone have occurred since 1990 (Global Warming Basics.) Hotter
temperatures do not just make it more humid outside or make an individual sweat more. These
increased temperatures cause drastic changes across the Earths surface, from droughts, to floods
to wildfires. These morbid effects, in turn, lead to the death of humans and animals worldwide.
The World Health Organization estimates that roughly 250,000 individuals universally will
perish from global warming between 2030 and 2050 (Climate Change and Health.) The heat
alone can cause both cardiovascular disease and even trigger asthma attacks. The thinning of the
ozone layer causes irreversible disasters, such as rising sea levels (Climate Change and
Health.) According to a study conducted by Nanjing University, rainfall in eastern China is so
light that the area is experiencing both a warmer season and droughts. The researchers concluded
that where light rainfall was prevalent, warming is deemed the primary cause (Jian, Zhang,
Zhao, and Tang.) Additionally in Greenland, Carnegie Mellon University did a similar study,
only they were reviewing the rise of sea levels. This research team made observations of the
Greenland Ice Sheet and the effect it has on the sea levels that surround the area. The GIS has
historically lost its mass due to increased temperatures, and thus contributes to higher sea levels.
The team, however, made the shocking discovery that the melting is constant, but can decrease
with less use of emissions (Applegate, Parizek, Nicholas, Alley, and Keller.) These two studies
essentially indicate that global warming is irreversible and its effects are severe to mankind.
While there is more than enough proof to last a lifetime that the planet is heating, the
international community still remains in turmoil over one particular issue: Who exactly is to
blame for this permanent disaster?

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Due to the fact that global warming effects the entire population as a whole, fingers are
always being pointed at who or what has caused this widespread issue. So while no one nation
can be blamed for something that has effected the entire globe for decades, some individuals
agree that humans have taken no part in causing global warming. In 2014, a United Kingdom
based company conducted a survey which measured the extent to which people believed human
activity has caused climate change. While most countries agreed that humans have had a role,
many global leaders, including Russia, China, and the United States, still have people who deny
that human activity is the main cause of this crisis (Survey Shows Americans Lead the World in
Climate Denial.) What is even more alarming is that more than half the respondents believe that
climate change is a natural phenomenon that happens from time to time (Survey Shows
Americans Lead the World in Climate Denial.) According to study conducted by the American
Meteorological Society, only about 64% of the meteorologists asked believe that global warming
is caused by human activity, whereas 82% of the Earth scientists asked believe in the human
factor effect (Meteorologists' Views About Global Warming: A Survey of American
Meteorological Society Professional Members.) The problem here is that both political leaders
and scientists alike have mixed views about the true source of global warming, which makes it
close to impossible to mobilize action to prevent the environment from getting worse.
Disagreement leads to confusion. However, even in the midst of confusion, the community is
still taking important and life changing steps to ensuring our future.
Since global warming effects every single person on the planet, the international
community is very much involved. When dealing with global warming, the international
community can be seen taking on a more liberal approach. The liberal perspective in
international relations puts more emphasis on independence and institutions, rather than power

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(Nau 6.) Basically, only international regimes are able to control issues properly. By placing
more emphasis on institutional factors, international regimes come into play and assist in
strengthening international regulations on climate change. International regimes ultimately can
put into law that the community must use less emissions and think greener when it comes to the
environment. From the reading, one can also see that the liberal perspective relies on
interdependence, which is when nations have social ties to one another. When examining global
warming, any action that one state takes needs to approval from another. Ultimately, every action
by one state causes a reaction by another state. If one state wants make a pact with another
involving the use of hydropower, interdependence is occurring.
Continuing with the liberal approach, the international community within the last 20
years has taken precautionary measures in combating climate change. One approach is quite
obvious, and that is use of alternate sustainable energy resources. Two of the most predominant
resources are solar and wind power. Both are natural and do not require the use of any fossil
fuels. While efficient, these alternatives are not as nearly widespread as they should be.
However, the more we learn about climate change and its effects, the more we see solar and wind
power in our everyday lives. Another approach, far more advanced than solar and wind power, is
geoengineering. According to Mike Hulme, geoengineering is used to counteract climate
change (Hulme 3.) Scientists within the international community have the technology to reduce
the amount of solar particles that reach the Earths surface. By using sunlight reflection methods,
scientists are able to reduce the increased temperatures by reflecting sunlight back into space
(Hulme 3, 4.) While alternative resources and geoengineering are at large very complicated,
minor changes overtime can lead to great results. The liberal perspective emphasizes
independence among individuals; so individuals should have their own methods in helping save

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the planet. Purchasing cars that require less oil can nearly halve emissions by 2025 (Eagan.)
Even something as small as planting trees can essentially help the Earth breathe more.
The liberal perspective is also very much present within the United Nations. Since this
affects every nation in the world, the UN is one of the main organizations paving the way to a
healthier lifestyle for our planet. While it is one of the largest problems the UN has yet to face,
they understand how the economies are affected and how finding a solution is more important
than ever. In 1992, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was put into effect. This
was designed to limit increasing temperatures and to cope with its impacts (Toward Climate
Agreement.) This Convention also saw the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol legally
binds countries to emission reduction targets (Toward Climate Change.) Over 190 nations are
signed to this binding agreement. More recently, the Climate Summit of 2014 took place. This
meeting saw the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asking world leaders, from politics to
business, to share their ideas on how to strengthen climate resilience and establish and more
meaningful agreement for years to come (Climate Summit 2014.)
Where the UN has succeeded in putting forth plans of action, there has also been
setbacks. An article published by Amanda Rosen argues that under the Kyoto Protocol, the
international regimes have not set out to do what they were supposed to do. This Protocol was
signed in 1997, yet emissions level have only dropped about 5.2% (Rosen.) To this day, close to
20 years later, emissions levels are still on the rise. Rosen believes that the United States failing
to ratify this agreement is one of the many reasons this action failed (Rosen.) Other nations, such
as Australia, have withdrawn from the Protocol and would then later rejoined (Rosen.) This, in
turn, causes instability and can make the Protocol almost seem like a quip, something to not be
taken seriously.

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Though the Protocol, under the liberal perspective, is considered by some to be a failure,
others are hopeful that when the Conference of Parties meets in Paris in December of 2015,
something will get solved. The Conference starts on November 30th and ends December 11th.
Within this time frame, it is the goal of all the participating countries to reach a new agreement,
one that will not fall through and one where countries must abide by all written provisions. The
Conference will focus on the finances of using new resources, short-lived climate pollutants,
renewable resources, primary focuses on forest and agriculture, among other aspects (Paris
Climate Change Conference - November 2015.) The UN is one of the most powerful regimes, if
not the most powerful, in the world today. As seen in the liberal perspective, the key is
cooperation among all nations. Instead of individual nations working alone, the UN hopes this
meeting will creating an unshakable unity where by reaching an agreement will help in relieving
the poverty and provide a relief to the decline in population from a warming planet (Paris
Climate Change Conference - November 2015.)
The UN stresses unity among the nations signed to the Kyoto Protocol and the UNFCCC.
Without unity, climate change will only continue to get worse. According to Perspectives on
International Relations: Power, Institutions, and Ideas, the liberal perspective accentuates the
need for interaction among states, whether that be through diplomacy or negotiations. The
ultimate goal is mutual gains, gains as a whole rather than one. The world wishes to gain a
newfound way of a healthier, greener planet, thus making the liberal perspective a competent
way of viewing global warming. A theoretical perspective that does not fit with this issue is the
realist perspective. This perspective emphasizes power, which is defined by material capabilities.
Essentially, one state wants to be more powerful than the next state. States more importantly
engage in self-help, where unison is practically nonexistent (Nau 5-6.) This perspective

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ultimately does not fit in with combating global warming for a few reason. First, engaging in
self-help does not better the planet as a whole. One nation may be able to help themselves but
another, like the developing countries, may need extra help in fighting the heat. Second, power
does not entirely relate to the need to fixing our planet. If nations just strictly focus on the need
to grow their power, combating climate change takes a backseat, and other nations suffer in the
process. And finally, unity is the only solution to fixing our dying world. With this crisis, unity is
vital for survival.
People die each day from louder, more noticeable crimes. Wars wipe out villages,
governments make people disappear, and religions divide brothers and sisters to the point of
terrorist attacks. However, the biggest crime against humanity is the silent killer we call global
warming. Global warming is often swept under the rug because of how dire the effects are. The
international community has never faced an issue that they could not fix with a little time and
elbow grease. So while the effects were not as ubiquitous as they were 30 years ago, today these
effects do not go unnoticed. We as a human population have caused our planet to warm, but we
as a population have the power to prolong the inevitable. The international community is taking
steps every year, from using alternative energy resources to global environmental conferences, to
alleviate what we have created. As I have discussed, the international community now more than
ever realizes that Earth is our home, and that it is our obligation to start treating this beautiful,
rich planet as such.

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Works Cited
Applegate, Patrick J., Byron R. Parizek, Robert E. Nicholas, Richard B. Alley, and Klaus Keller.
"Increasing Temperature Forcing Reduces the Greenland Ice Sheets Response Time
Scale." Clim Dyn Climate Dynamics 45.7-8 (2014): 2001-011. Web. 10 Nov. 15.
"Climate Change and Health." World Health Organization. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Eagan, Robert. "Oge, Margo. Driving the Future: Combating Climate Change with Cleaner,
Smarter Cars." Library Journal 2015: 116. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Nov.
2015.
"Global Warming Basics." What Is Global Warming. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
"Global Warming: News, Facts, Causes & Effects." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, n.d. Web.
10 Nov. 2015.
Hulme, Mike. Can Science Fix Climate Change?: A Case against Climate Engineering. N.p.:
n.p., n.d. Print.
Malcolm, Jay, Canran Liu, Ronald Neilson, Lara Hansen, and Lee Hannah. "Global Warming
and Extinctions of Endemic Species from Biodiversity Hotspots." EBSCOHost (2006): n.
pag. Print.
"Meteorologists' Views About Global Warming: A Survey of American Meteorological Society
Professional Members." American Meteorological Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Nau, Henry R. Perspectives on International Relations: Power, Institutions, and Ideas. 4th ed.
N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
"Paris Climate Change Conference - November 2015." United Nations Framework on Climate
Change - November 2015. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.

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"Survey Shows Americans Lead the World in Climate Denial." EcoWatch. N.p., 22 July 2014.
Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
"Toward Climate Agreement." UN and Climate Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 15.

Wu, Jian, Liya Zhang, Deming Zhao, and Jianping Tang. "Impacts of Warming and Water Vapor
Content on the Decrease in Light Rain Days during the Warm Season over Eastern
China." Clim Dyn Climate Dynamics 45.7-8 (2014): 1841-857. Web. 10 Nov. 15.