The International Politics of the Environment

The most pressing environmental issues, such as global warming, ozone depletion, water and air pollution, deforestation and the loss of biodiversity generate enormous tasks for science, technology and economic and social organization. But the seriousness and global scale of these problems also poses new challenges for international relations and demands new forms of co-operation between states. Is such co-operation possible? How can states negotiate workable international environmental agreements and implement them effectively? This book brings together leading specialists to assess the strengths, limitations and potential of the international political system for global environmental management. Overview chapters examine the processes of international environmental negotiation, law-making, and regime formation and explore the difficulties of implementation and enforcement. Experts close to particular institutions consider the environmental and developmental roles of the United Nations, the World Bank and the Euorpean Community.
Other chapters explore the political, economic and moral conflicts of interest between states, especially between North and South and the problems of economic analysis and decision-making in the face of uncertainty. Case studies of Brazil, Japan and the United States explore the wide range of factors influencing international environmental policy, while other contributors examine the increasingly central role of transnational environmental NGOs, the arguments for justice made by the South and the special problems of international interest and sovereign rights raised by tropical deforestation. This colleciton provides an analysis of the political, economic, and moral issues at stake in international environmental co-operation.