The International Politics of the Environment: Actors, Interests, and Institutions

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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. 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? This book brings together leading specialists to assess the strengths, limitations, and potential of the international political system for global environmental management. It begins by examining the processes of international environmental negotiation, law-making, and regime formation, and explores 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 European Community. 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 collection provides an authoritative and timely analysis of the political, economic and moral issues at stake in international environmental co-operation.