ABSTRACT
The environment and economic development are traditionally thought to be diametrically opposed (Nygren and Rikoon 2008). Sustainable development has long been recognised as the‘trade-off’ between the two. In this respect, economic growth is fundamentally linked to questions of environmental sustainability. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7 highlighted the importance of the concept of‘sustainable development’. This concept had emerged in narratives on development following the 1987 Brundlandt Report which defined sustainable development as‘an inter-generational responsibility’ for meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to be able to meet their own needs. 1 Climate change debates have also led to issues concerning the‘resilience’ and adaptability of states, societies and economies in an age of global environmental risk. Whether human induced or not, whether real or not, the controversies concerning climate change have induced policies based on quantifying and controlling‘risk’ assessments, vulnerabilities and data sets on possible scenarios. For IR, climate change has begun questioning the very concept of national security and the meaning of the term‘threat’. There are also the various economic and environmental paradoxes of climate change. For instance, climate change can open up trade routes and natural resources but at the same time cause widespread flooding of agricultural areas which can create food shortage crises and a movement of people as‘climate refugees’ (Blaike and Brookefield 1987; Cameron and Cloth 2012; Earth Negotiations Bulletin 2011). This‘push and pull’ movement can create numerous tensions over access and ownership of land rights, water resources and territorial rights.
