The Global Environment and World Politics

Politically, the world is composed of states. Environmentally, the world is made up of ecosystems. The disconnect between these two systems makes addressing environmental issues globally both difficult and necessary. The study of global environmental politics draws on a variety of academic traditions. It uses international relations theory to look at the concerns and actions of states, but has also had to find a variety of new concepts and perspectives in order to explain issues unique to the study of the environment. Here, DeSombre examines four important aspects of the field: international environmental cooperation; the issues of science, uncertainty and risk; the experience of developing states in global environmental negotiations; and the role of non-state actors. In the second half of the book, she examines these issues through the use of case studies on specific problems facing the global environment, including ozone depletion and global climate change, the politics of whaling, the protection of Amazonian biodiversity and acid rain in Europe and North America.