Global Governance: A Collective Response to Global Challenges

One of the functions of global governance is the management of world governments, institutions, and the public to tackle the challenges.

While we are integrating into a more global world, environmental challenges like global warming, pandemic outbreaks, and international conflicts are revealing their additional facets. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the weakness of a single nation addressing world issues. There is a lack of initiatives to pacify these conflicts.

One of the functions of global governance is the management of world governments, institutions, and the public to tackle the challenges just mentioned. Proponents argue that global governance can streamline the use of human and material resources and energy, but challengers question its capacity to serve the myriad of national needs.

It is appropriate to assume that global governance is in a position to resolve global threats, but it requires consensus, strong willingness, and yielding to national goals. Such actions have led to consequences like the recent separation of the United States from the Paris Accord, which exhibit these tendencies and agreements and point out the priorities of policies to advance international governance.

Global governance enables international cooperation and is essential to address transboundary issues. Collective action, such as the GCR (Global Climate Response), voices stronger and more innovative solutions than lone attempts by any single party or world leader (think about the Paris Accord), which led to many nations working to battle the threat of climate change collaboratively.

Such agreements create a collective roadmap for lowering greenhouse gas emissions, stimulating technological innovation, and investing in sustainable practices. Countries such as Costa Rica have adopted forward-thinking policies based on mutual pledges, moving toward renewable energy and accounting for less than 1 percent of the carbon produced globally.

Indeed, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) response during health crises demonstrates how consensus in global governance can successfully be leveraged into the mobilization of resources. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO was pivotal in the distribution of vaccines and the coordination of research on the disease.

COVAX reflects the international commitment to vaccines and shows how global governance has the potential to act in the area of health and security within everyone’s reach. In addition, there are structures like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which offer resources for countries to work together in tackling challenges such as ‘developmental’ poverty and inequality.

These suggest that even though governance is complex, it can create effective, diverse solutions to global problems. However, even with enforcing global governance, some issues still need addressing. Some of the major problems include the political loss of control; most countries are not ready to sacrifice their needs to pursue what is considered the global interest.

This can be seen in the US exit from the Paris Agreement, which serves as a clear example of how self-serving national policies affect global governance. This particular decision should set the alarm bell for other countries since it undermined efforts on climate and established a foundation that others may use to put national interest before international action.

After the withdrawal, U.S. environmental progress hit new walls, and global ambitions for combating climate change were dampened because of the country’s huge economy and industry weight. In addition to this, the diversity of cultures and languages creates a significant issue in the race to create a one-size-fits-all strategy, making negotiation and purposeful implementation problematic.

A clear danger is that global authority is used to threaten individual freedom and human rights. Historical precedents highlight the capacity for power imbalance, most notably the League of Nations’ inability to prevent the buildup to World War II in the interwar period and the overreach of nation-states, creating a necessity for checks and balances within any global governance system.

Critics of global governance claim that it is unrealistic and could dilute national identity. But more necessarily, a reality of global governance does not necessarily include a complete surrender of national sovereignty. Rather, it advocates for a cooperative model where states can preserve their identities while joining unified efforts.

The post-Paris Accord approach to international climate negotiations demonstrates this balance; countries can choose to partake in differing amounts of emissions targets while cooperating on broader-scale climate strategies. Several important policies are proposed to improve global governance.

The first is to reinforce the legal and institutional frameworks, which is a critical component of improving accountability mechanisms. Countries, such as the United States, should recognize their responsibilities and rejoin international treaties that can keep national efforts aligned with global ambitions.

Moreover, inclusion is key to cooperation and bridging cultural differences. Alternate means to build representation in governance would include building platforms that allow stakeholders from emerging economies, indigenous communities, and civil society to actively participate in processes of decision-making.

Establishing both strong financing mechanisms for world initiatives, like cutting climate finance to developing countries, is crucial for sustainable goals as well. Wealthy countries must honor their pledges on both finance and technology to level with each other.

Multilateralism must be promoted to prevent states from pursuing solo interests. There is also a great need to facilitate alliances across stakeholders in government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to increase global governance effectiveness, bringing us collaborative and effective solutions to the aforementioned issues plaguing us in general.

In brief, although global governance shows serious challenges, it also has significant potential to tackle global challenges. The urgency of the problems we face today, from pandemics to climate change, requires a collaborative response that builds upon the strengths of an interconnected world.

One notable example is the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, which signifies a threat to global consensus but also underscores the power of perseverance and collaboration. Through reinforcing legal structures, ensuring inclusive participation, securing strong funding potential, and refocusing on multilateralism, a functional model of global governance is neither idealistic nor unattainable.

The conversation must continue to further calibrate this model and adapt it to our nations’ diverse needs while ensuring it is fit for purpose to address the global challenges we face as one. The crucial task of global governance is not to replace national interests but rather to put them in common service.

Shumaila Saeed
Shumaila Saeed
Undergraduate student of International Relations at International Islamic University, Islamabad.