Assess the view: Is the view substantiated? Is it responsible, ethical and moral to do so?
Blamed: being held responsible
Primarily: the government is the main/ultimate culprit, among other parties
World: Analysing the global and international environmental situation
Arguments + Examples for why the government should not be primarily blamed
1st argument:
The government should not be primarily blamed because consumers and individuals should take the ultimate responsibility for protecting the environment. This is especially true as consumers’ behaviour in our daily lives tends to have the greatest and the most far-reaching impact on the environment.
Example:
Our unregulated culture of consumerism especially in developed nations, the excessive use of plastic bags and our insatiable(endless) demand for fast and cheap fashion, push corporations to produce clothes in excessively high volumes. This pushes them to outsource their products, using every means available to manufacture clothes that are more affordable. This increases the need for conventional cotton, which requires a substantial amount of water and pesticide to grow. This leads to an increased strain on our dwindling supply of fresh water.
Example:
Another key issue that catalyses our environmental degradation is our half-hearted and tokenistic attitude towards environmentalism. The Earth Hour Global campaign is the epitome of this. It is not an uncommon phenomenon to notice that people who participate in this campaign revert back to their consumerist and extravagant lifestyles, after the transient and insignificant campaign.
Link: We can deduce that it is the individual that causes the deterioration of the environment. It is our demand, our apathy and our lack of understanding. We fail to recognise the true cost of our purchases and the futility of our half-hearted efforts to protect our environment.
2nd argument:
Corporations should also be held primarily accountable for their polluting and environmentally unsustainable behaviour which stems from their relentless pursuit of profits. This is so because most of the disastrous environmental crises do result from the unethical behaviour of corporations.
Example:
Nestle- producing Kit Kat bars – used palm oil from Indonesian companies that engaged in unsustainable productions methods that ended up destroying the rainforests and driving the orangutans to extinction. The environmental watchdog Greenpeace has severely criticised its corporate behaviour.
At the core of the Indonesian Haze Crisis that blanketed the surrounding regions in Malaysia and Singapore is the underlying issue of the unethical and profit-maximising behaviour of some Indonesian companies, using practices such as slash-and-burn. NTUC supermarkets pulled out and boycotted some of the paper products manufactured by these questionable companies.
In China, it is clear that a vast majority of corporations have chosen to prioritise economic interest over the environment. These Chinese corporations are one of the main culprits of the environmental crisis that we face today. Chinese corporations are building or planning to build more than 700 new coal plants at home and around the world, even in countries that do not use coal as their main source of energy. These actions have led to the worsening of air pollution, especially in industrial areas, sometimes even to the extent that flights have to be cancelled due to the lack of visibility.
Therefore we can see that it is the fault of the capitalistic corporations, especially in China, that result in the environmental crisis that we have to face today.
Arguments + Examples for why the government should indeed be primarily blamed
1st argument:
However, it can also be said that Governments also play a crucial role in determining the behaviour of these corporations. They should indeed take the ultimate responsibility for their failure in implementing environmental policies and laws to protect the environment.
[Irresponsible government.]
Examples:
The oil spills in Nigeria clearly illustrate the environmental disasters that happen due to a substandard and inefficient governing body.
They frequently occur due to poor infrastructure and maintenance. These pipelines, which are over 25 years old, corrode and rupture, releasing oil into the environment. Therefore the fault predominantly lies with the inefficient Nigerian government for not imposing strict regulations on oil companies and for the tardiness in the clean-up work.
The Chinese government in China is also another poignant example of government irresponsibility. Their reluctance & inefficiency of the Chinese government to keep a tab on polluting corporations, has led to rising CO2 emissions and environmental pollution.
The Indonesian government, similar to China, was irresponsible in their policies. They were criticized by the Singaporean government for failing to take drastic actions against the polluting firms that engaged in slash-and-burn activities.
[governments which prioritise economic gain over environmental well-being.]
Governments should primarily be blamed for always prioritising economic interest at the expense of environmental well-being.
China and its rapid industrialisation, unwilling to slow down its economic growth hence the lukewarm attitude towards environmental commitment, as seen in the lack of enforcement of environmental laws to reduce the worsening air pollution in cities such as Beijing.
Kyoto Protocol – international environmental treaty(aims to cut down on greenhouse emission) – The repeated reluctance of the U.S to pledge its commitment because of its emphasis on economic interest. Pledging support for such environmental agreement is often perceived as imposing a limit on their economic growth
The controversial withdrawal of the U.S from the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017 by Donald Trump.Trump argues that the Agreement will hurt the American economic interest and worsen the job losses in its coal mining industry
Link: Governing bodies, are the ones who have the power to enact real change, by banding together and working towards environmental progress.
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