Actors in the Environmental Arena Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards focusing on state roles, subnational actors, IGOs, scientific bodies, treaty secretariats, financial institutions, and civil society actors in global environmental politics.

Lead State

A state with a strong commitment to effective international action on an environmental issue that moves negotiations forward by proposing constructive options and seeking support from other states.

Supporting State

A state that speaks in favor of a lead state's proposals during international environmental negotiations.

Swing State

A state with mixed incentives that seeks a side-payment or concession to its interests in exchange for accepting an environmental agreement.

Veto State

A state that seeks to block a proposed environmental regime outright, weaken it until it cannot be effective, or refuse to join.

Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)

A coalition of 32 small island states formed in November 1990 to speak with a single voice in climate negotiations due to high vulnerability to sea-level rise.

Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy

An international climate organization created in 2016 by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, encompassing 10,000 mayors in 138 countries taking action on climate change.

Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance

A collaboration of large cities across eleven countries committed to achieving carbon neutrality or reducing GHG emissions by 80–100% by 2050 or sooner.

C40

A network of 96 of the world's largest cities representing over 700 million people and 25% of the global economy, committed to climate action plans in line with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

United States Climate Alliance

A coalition of 25 US states (as of mid-2020) committed to reducing GHG emissions by at least 26–28% below 2005 levels by 2025 and implementing policies supporting the Paris Agreement.

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)

The first mandatory, multi-state, market-based CO2 emissions-reduction program in the United States, formed by ten northeast and mid-Atlantic states.

Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)

Organizations created by national governments for broad or specific purposes that influence global environmental politics through agenda setting, information provision, and policy implementation.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The lead UN organization on environmental issues, founded in June 1972 following the UN Conference on the Human Environment, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

A Rome-based UN agency that leads international efforts to defeat hunger, advance agricultural productivity, and ensure food safety.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The UN's global development organization headquartered in New York, focused on eradicating poverty, building country capacity, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Ozone Trends Panel

A scientific body organized by NASA involving over 100 scientists from ten countries that conducted a 16-month comprehensive assessment confirming ozone layer depletion.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

A body created in 1988 by UNEP charged with providing detailed reports based on peer-reviewed scientific information on climate change, its impacts, and response strategies.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

An independent intergovernmental body established to assess the planet's biodiversity and ecosystem services and provide scientifically sound information for policy decision-making.

Treaty Secretariats

Specific IGOs established by international treaties to manage the day-to-day operations and administrative functions of treaty regimes.

Knowledge Brokers

A capacity in which treaty secretariats act by gathering, synthesizing, processing, and disseminating technical, scientific, administrative, and diplomatic knowledge to stakeholders.

Global Environment Facility (GEF)

An organization established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit in Washington, DC, that provides grants and concessional funding for environmental projects and serves as a financial mechanism for major conventions.

World Bank

A group of development institutions owned by 189 member countries, headquartered in Washington, DC, that provides low-interest loans, interest-free credits, and grants to developing nations.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

A specialized UN agency founded in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, DC, whose primary mission is to ensure the stability of the international monetary system.

New Development Bank (NDB)

A multilateral financial institution established in 2014 by BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) as an alternative to the World Bank and IMF to support infrastructure and sustainable development.

European Green Deal

An EU policy roadmap designed to boost resource efficiency through a clean circular economy, restore biodiversity, and cut pollution while aiming for climate neutrality.

Group of 77 (G-77)

The largest developing-country coalition within the United Nations system, serving as the main negotiating arm for developing nations.

Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP)

A regional organization created explicitly to build national capacity, protect and improve the environment, and ensure sustainable development in the Pacific region.

Soft Law

Non-binding international agreements, codes of conduct, declarations, or global action plans that establish norms and expectations of behavior without mandatory legal status.

Third World Network

An independent, non-profit international network focused on the needs and rights of peoples in developing countries, fair resource distribution, and ecologically sustainable development.