Equality Among Unequals In International Environmental Law

To deal effectively with global environmental problems, such as climate change, we need global co-operation. Yet all too many developing countries lack the economics, infrastructures and technical capacity to tackle these problems. This book argues that developing countries need to be accorded differential treatment in the international environmental agreements adopted to prevent or mitigate the problems, if these agreements are to succeed. This study addresses a controversial issue of great importance to international environmental law and its success in protecting a livable planet. In an attempt to get beyond words to action, this book looks at global environmental problems from the perspective of getting developing countries more involved in solving these problems. How can they best be brought into the realm of international environmental regulation and eased on to the pathway to sustainable development? The idea is that the new trend of using incentives to promote developing country participation in international environmental agreements - in effect, giving them differential treatment - must continue and become part of the framework of international environmental law.
Without the participation of developing countries, universal participation to deal with global environmental problems cannot be achieved. Yet this is a prerequisite for sustainable development on our interdependent planet. This study concentrates on showing what has been done on the international plane to promote the participation of developing countries and suggests some of the things that remain to be done. According differential treatment to developing countries to promote their participation entails the use of incentives in the international environmental agreements, such as different standards, longer compliance times, and increased financial and technical assistance.