Global Environment and Governance

Abstract

The role of the North is indisputable in overcoming the global environmental problem. Industrial development since the 18th century has occurred solely in the North, albeit at varying paces. Rapid industrialization is taking place in the South, but this is a fairly recent phenomenon. Thus, the North is largely responsible for the vast increase in CO₂ emission which resulted, first, from steam engine and iron smelting based on coal and, second, from electric power generation, metallurgy, and automobile transportation. If these remain the key technologies in the global society, environmentally sound development is indeed untenable. But the North also has at its disposal new technology which imposes less of a burden on the global resource base and environment: information technology based on micro-electronics, new materials, and biotechnology are examples. These technologies have emerged in the late 20th century, and they will change the development pattern in the 21st century. It is still true that at a certain stage of economic development, the demand for energy and steel tends to expand very rapidly. But in this field as well, the North has already produced resource-saving technology.