In
his TED talk, Goldin presented some problems that arose due to rapid
globalisation. He states that destruction in biodiversity and ecosystem,
climate change, financial crisis and inequality are major problems faced by the
world. Globalisation is the growing interconnectedness of people and places
through converging processes of economic, political, and cultural changes. It has
caused countries to become increasingly integrated among one another because of
the advances in technology. Goldin stressed the two pressing consequences of an
intricate interconnected world. Firstly, globalisation induces social
inequality as developmental gap widens between the affluent and the
impoverished. Only the privileged will have the opportunity to take part in the
global community. Secondly, as countries become more integrated with each other,
pandemics and financial collapse can affect every country.
The
most significant problem is the environmental impact due to large-scale human
activities. Industrialisation has increased the carbon emission to the atmosphere,
which results in rising global temperatures. At the same time, harmful
chemicals were released pollute the environment, destroying natural
habitats and endangering the ecosystem. In addition, the world has adopted capitalism which promotes the growth of a consumerist and materialistic society. Thus,
resulting in wastage and overconsumption as well as exploitation of natural
resources. Hence in an attempt to mitigate the problem, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) had come together to resolve the environmental issue. The
United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) assists countries in implementing
environmentally sound policies and practices. Another solution is for the
cooperation to integrate green technology in their products.
As
the world today place a large emphasis on economic growth, majority of the
nations would exploit the advantages nature has to offer in order to ensure
progress. Thus, biodiversity and ecosystem are deteriorating due to over exploitation and large demand for resources. In order
to protect the environment, international organisations pressures countries to
limit their economic activities in order to reduce the impact it may have on
the ecosystem. By doing so, countries would have no choice but to oblige to the
demands of these organisations. This is because these supranational bodies may
place sanctions against their country, causing them to suffer because they are overly dependent
on other nations due to the effects of globalisation. An example of political
pressure is evident during the 2008 Beijing Olympics whereby China received
tremendous global pressure to reduce carbon emissions and pollutants. China was
listed as the largest carbon dioxide emitter in EDGAR in 2012. However,
intimidating countries may not be effective enough to significantly reduce the
impact on biodiversity. China did not rectify the Kyoto Protocol even though it
was faced with much global pressure. China is still the largest carbon dioxide
emitter followed by United States. Despite China’s efforts on environmental protection,
it is not sufficient to cover the environmental needs. Shanghai has attempted
to clean up the Suzhou River that was polluted by unregulated dumping of sewage
and industrial waste. Therefore, it is evident that not enough is being done to
alleviate the problem of environmental deterioration. A possible reason is
because China does no have the necessary resources to mitigate the problems
they face.
Nonetheless,
globalisation has a positive impact on the environment due to the use of green
technologies and increased awareness. The advancements in technologies have
enabled MNCs to conduct researches to reduce the impact of human activities on
the environment. Environmentally friendly products such as hybrid cars are
introduced as they typically have fewer carbon emissions compared to regular
cars.
Another
pressing problem faced by the nations due to globalisation is inequality.
Increased global trade have no benefitted all countries equally. Countries such
as many African less developing countries (LDCs) have little to offer to
attract potential investors and hence receive very limited investments from the
developed countries (DCs), resulting in disparity in wealth accumulation and
hence uneven socio-economic development. Globalisation further accentuates
uneven development within countries, as most foreign investments are often
concentrated in urban areas, not rural areas. Therefore, to reduce the widening
development gap between nations, nations would require implementing policies
that can attract foreign investments. This in turn will create more jobs for
the people, increasing demand for goods and services and economy will progress.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has had talks during May 2013 to
address the development gap in ASEAN. It has been reported that even though
disparity between the rich and poor is narrowing, more has to be done. However,
it is not easy to eradicate socio-economic inequality. Variations in resource
endowment and bad governance might prevent the gap from narrowing. These issues
are difficult to tackle, as regional and global organisations are unable to
assist the country directly.
In
conclusion, globalisation can be a boon or bane for countries. It can cause
destruction to Mother Nature and conflicts to arise between the poor and rich. At
the same time, it can also bring about advancements in different areas such as science,
transportation and communication.
References:
