Deck 20: Sustainable Development: International Environmental Agreements and International Trade

Question 1

Both environmentalists and free trade advocates supported the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The United States ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2001 during the Bush administration.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Protectionists support the use of trade barriers, such as tariffs and quotas.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Montreal Protocol and its amendments address the phase out of those chemicals primarily responsible for climate change.

Question 5

Sustainable development refers to the management of the earth's resources to ensure their quality and abundance for future generations.

Question 6

The Environmental Kuznets Curve

A) models a theorized relationship between environmental pollution and population
B) is positively sloped and linear
C) illustrates the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation
D) graphs as a U-shaped curve

Question 7

Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration are two major documents produced from the Rio Summit in 1992.

Question 8

Ocean dumping of certain wastes is prohibited by the London Convention 1972 (LC72) and the 1996 Protocol.

Question 9

Advocates of free trade argue that increases in worldwide output and efficiency gains from specialization are among the associated gains of unencumbered international trade.

Question 10

The Border 2012 Program involving the United States and Mexico has a broad agenda, including improving air and water quality, tracking hazardous waste, and promoting pollution prevention.

Question 11

According to the textbook application, the pessimistic view about the shape of the Environmental Kuznets Curve is that, after a critical income level, a country can only maintain its existing pollution level.

Question 12

Achieving both environmental quality and economic prosperity is

A) represented at all points along the Kuznets Curve
B) a view supported by the Nobel Laureate, Robert Solow
C) the overall goal of sustainable development
D) strictly a short-term objective

Question 13

The U.S.-Canada Air Quality Agreement represents the efforts of the two nations to combat climate change.

Question 14

The shape of the Environmental Kuznets Curve reflects the theory that advanced levels of industrial development are linked to higher levels of pollution.

Question 15

The flexible mechanisms relevant to the Kyoto Protocol include a system of tradeable allowances for greenhouse gases.

Question 16

Available data indicate that the reduction of trade barriers associated with the World Trade Organization (WTO) has led to improved trade flows.

Question 17

Transboundary pollution linked to electricity generation can be modeled as an international externality whereby the MSB is lower than the MEB of electricity.

Question 18

Nobel Laureate Robert Solow argues that sustainable development is a good concept to guide national policy.

Question 19

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are a group of chemicals believed to contribute to depletion of the ozone layer.

Question 20

Since the NAFTA was reached in 1992, trade among Canada, Mexico, and the United States has risen, but exports to the United States have declined.

Question 21

Setting specific goals for reducing sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_X) to combat acid rain was the objective of the international agreement

A) between the United States and Canada
B) between the United States and Mexico
C) among all nations in the European Union
D) among the United States, Canada, and Mexico

Question 22

The World Trade Organization (WTO)

A) is the successor to GATT
B) administers trade agreements and resolves trade disputes
C) comprises more than 150 member nations
D) all of the above
E) (a) and (b) only

Question 23

Agenda 21

A) was among the major documents generated at the Rio Summit
B) represents a worldwide voluntary plan for moving toward sustainable development
C) came about after more than 2 years of international negotiations
D) all of the above

Question 24

The international trade agreement that was executed in the 1940s was

A) the NAFTA
B) the U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Agreement
C) the London Convention
D) the 1996 Protocol
E) the GATT

Question 25

The Montreal Protocol and its subsequent amendments

A) accomplished little in correcting ozone depletion
B) failed to recognize the special problems of developing nations
C) established and implemented phase out schedules for ozone depleters
D) was an international agreement aimed at addressing climate change

Question 26

The pessimistic view of the shape of the Environmental Kuznets Curve is

A) linear from the origin
B) an inverted-U shape that flattens out after some critical income level
C) a perfectly symmetric inverted-U shape
D) a flattened U-shape

Question 27

An international externality

A) refers to a spillover effect that results exclusively from international trade barriers
B) arises from transboundary pollution
C) can be modeled as the MEC of production when it affects more than one nation
D) all of the above
E) (b) and (c) only

Question 28

The protectionist view

A) argues that nations should protect their borders from transboundary pollution
B) believes that trade can create unfair competition or lose jobs to other nations
C) supports environmental policy only if it protects domestic jobs
D) ignores environmental issues, focusing only on the effects of trade on competition and employment

Question 29

The international agreement that was aimed specifically at ozone depletion is the

A) Kyoto Protocol
B) Montreal Protocol
C) Rio Declaration
D) London Convention 1972

Question 30

The benefits of international trade include

A) more choice for consumers
B) efficiency gains from specialization
C) more competition
D) all of the above
E) (a) and (c) only

Question 31

Ten years after the Rio Summit,

A) the World Summit on Sustainable Development was held in Johannesburg
B) the Rio Declaration was adopted
C) worldwide interest in the summit's motivating principles had waned
D) participating nations agreed to abandon the original goals of Agenda 21

Question 32

The London Convention 1972 and the 1996 Protocol are aimed at the problem of

A) acid rain
B) ozone depletion
C) climate change
D) dumping wastes at sea

Question 33

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

A) involves the United States, Canada, and Mexico
B) did not increase the volume of trade among the countries of North America
C) was negotiated after President Obama took office
D) failed to acknowledge environmental protection in its trade propositions