Free Trade Agreements, Private Courts and Environmental Exploitation: Disconnected Policies, Denials and Moral Disengagement

Abstract

Although there is strong scientific consensus that climate change and environmental degradation are occurring, there is also a significant body of opinion that is sceptical about, or denies the validity of, evidence for this. However it is not solely the nature of differing views about global warming or ecological disaster that is being contested but the case for or against intervention and regulation in the market. At an international level, gestures toward 'sustainability' are (i) compromised by combining them with declarations of the need for continued economic growth, and (ii) undermined by the arrangements put in place by existing and new transnational trade agreements. The paper examines these views and developments, and the patterns of denial, disconnection and fragmentation they display.

Arcologies, Eco-shelters and Environmental Exemption: Constructing New Divisions and Inequalities in the Anthropocene

“…Perhaps, as these authors envisage, one 'future' could follow these lines if greater understanding and acceptance of 'our symbiotic relationship with constructed and natural landscapes' could lead to innovations creating 'new forms of connective space' (Marks, Matsha and Caruso 2018: 150). This future requires the rejection of narratives and 'solutions' that are used by some to justify their exemption from the consequences of excessive growth, over-consumption and ecocidal irresponsibility (Higgins, Short and South 2013;South 2010South , 2016. The alternative-the possible outcome of trends outlined here-is that instead, there are national and global sources of momentum towards support for non-traditional systems of governance, the creation of new 'economic enclaves' (Caldeira 2001;Ferguson 2006: 13) and the construction of 'ecological arks' for the elite.…”

“…While the impacts of climate change and global warming may not be a significant feature of anxieties and anticipation for some (South 2016), others acknowledge that the human activities responsible for emission of 575 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere since 1870 (Le Quéré et al 2014) have meant the Anthropocene era brings the prospect of living in a different sort of world. According to Hamilton, Bonneuil andGemmene (2015: 4-5 citing Dyer 2008) this will mean:…”

Cooling discourses, agnosis and environmental harm

“…Cooling discourses might be a useful addition alongside the 'temporal containment' and 'self-correction' types. Cooling discourses might also be seen as 'satisficing' strategies, similar to those employed in international trade agreements that continue to support economic growth amidst increased demands for ecological protection (South, 2016). It is also possible that cooling discourses may be employed in an ongoing manner, similar to other 'lovely knowledges' (Pitt and Britzman, 2003) employed by elite groups when confronted with inconvenient truths.…”

Justificatory Narratives: The Collapse of Greensill Capital

“…New constitutionalism champions private power and hinders state power; it separates economic practices from democratic procedures; it attempts to neutralise local and national rules while affirming global trade rules (Gill 1998(Gill , 2002(Gill , 2008. A global governing entity that incorporates the principles of new constitutionalism is the World Trade Organization, with its tireless opposition to public policies applied to the economic arena and to national interference in markets (Gill and Cutler 2014;Inman 2021;McBride and Teeple 2011;Ruggiero and South 2013;South 2016).…”