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Difficulty: MediumDebates about the Environment after 1900

"We must not sign any treaty that exempts developing nations from mandatory greenhouse gas reduction targets while imposing binding targets on our own economy. Doing so would place our domestic industries at a severe competitive disadvantage, resulting in massive job losses and the relocation of manufacturing to countries with lax environmental standards. Economic growth is the true engine of environmental improvement; a weaker economy will only reduce our ability to invest in clean technologies."

—Statement by a business coalition lobbying against the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, United States, 1997

The perspective expressed in the statement is best understood in the context of which of the following late-twentieth-century developments?

  1. The tension between international efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and national concerns over economic competitiveness.Answer
  2. B
    The expansion of the Green Revolution's organic farming techniques to protect global agricultural yields.
  3. C
    The establishment of direct Western colonial administrations over developing nations to enforce carbon limits.
  4. D
    The resistance of international business organizations to the cultural homogenization of global consumer markets.

Answer

The tension between international efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and national concerns over economic competitiveness.
The correct answer is correct because the source outlines a common criticism of international environmental treaties like the Kyoto Protocol, specifically that mandatory emission targets threaten domestic industrial competitiveness when global competitors in developing nations are not bound by the same rules.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source to identify its core argument.
The source opposes an environmental treaty because it exempts developing nations, which the authors claim will harm domestic industries and cost jobs.
Understanding the primary source's argument is essential to finding the correct historical context.
2
Place the source within the context of late-twentieth-century global environmental policy.
The document dates to 1997 and explicitly mentions the Kyoto Protocol, a major international treaty designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
This establishes the link between the document and global efforts to combat climate change.
3
Evaluate the options to identify which development matches the conflict described in the source.
The correct option matches the documented debate between global environmental regulation and national economic interests.
This aligns with the major historical theme of globalization and environmental debates after 1900.

Key Concept

Debates about the Environment after 1900
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Debates about the Environment after 1900

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