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Difficulty: MediumDebates about the Environment after 1900

"We cannot accept that the developed countries, having achieved their high standard of living through centuries of unrestricted industrialization and carbon emissions, should now demand that developing nations restrict their own industrial growth in the name of global environmental protection. Environmental sustainability must not come at the expense of our right to lift our people out of poverty."

— Representative of the Group of 77 (G77) coalition of developing nations, statement at a United Nations conference on climate change, 1997

Based on the passage, which of the following best explains the primary source of tension in late-twentieth-century global environmental negotiations?

  1. The disagreement over whether industrialized or developing nations should bear the primary economic burden of reducing global emissions.Answer
  2. B
    The debate over whether the agricultural policies of the Green Revolution represented a successful eco-friendly environmental movement.
  3. C
    The concern that international environmental treaties would destroy regional traditions and lead to complete cultural homogenization.
  4. D
    The view that foreign corporate investment in green energy projects represented direct colonial rule and administrative annexation of sovereign states.

Answer

The disagreement over whether industrialized or developing nations should bear the primary economic burden of reducing global emissions.
The correct option is correct because the passage reflects a central debate in late-twentieth-century environmental diplomacy: developing nations argued that since industrialized nations were historically responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, they should bear the primary cost of mitigation, and that environmental regulations should not impede the economic development and poverty alleviation of developing states.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source passage to identify the key actors and their arguments.
The G77 representative, representing developing nations, argues that developed nations are responsible for historical emissions and should not restrict the industrial development of poorer nations for global environmental protection.
This establishes that the core conflict is about the fairness of environmental restrictions on developing economies versus the historical responsibility of industrialized economies.
2
Evaluate the options against the primary conflict identified in the text.
The option emphasizing the disagreement over the economic burden of reducing emissions aligns directly with the text's contrast between developed nations' historical emissions and developing nations' need to lift people out of poverty.
This confirms the correct option as the one describing the tension over responsibility for emissions reduction.

Key Concept

Debates about the environment after 1900, particularly the differing perspectives of developed and developing nations regarding emissions regulations and economic development.
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Debates about the Environment after 1900

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