Ozone Discourses

How can scientific knowledge be translated into political change? This study examines the first global environment treaty, the Montreal Protocol, and its subsequent revisions, which was a highly effective collaboration among scientists, policymakers, and activists. The treaties were the work of a small group of experts who, without conventional political or economic resources, were able to persuade most of the world's nations to agree to reduce and then eliminate chloro-fluorocarbons. These experts used their understanding of atmospheric science to supplement the policymakers' short-term perspective with a wider, generational timeframe characteristic of global environmental problems. Litfin argues that the discipline of international relations requires a broader conception of power in order to accommodate knowledge-based problems such as environmental degradation.