The Implementation and Effectiveness of International Environmental Commitments: Theory and Practice (Global Environmental Accord: Strategies for Sustainability and Institutional Innovation) Book

"There is no way to summarize this book: it is rich in variety of experience, full of unexpected results, innovative in conceptualization, broad in environmental coverage, and ultimately wise in its conclusions. You can read the conclusions with profit, but conviction will come from absorbing the entire range of experience. An immense and successful effort." -- Thomas C. Schelling, School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland Because environmental problems do not respect borders, their solutions often require international cooperation and agreements. The contributors to this book examine how international environmental agreements are put into practice. Their main concern is effectiveness--the degree to which such agreements lead to changes in behavior that help to solve environmental problems. Their focus is on implementation--the process that turns commitments into action, at both domestic and international levels. Implementation is the key to effectiveness because these agreements aim to constrain not just governments but a wide array of actors, including individuals, firms, and agencies whose behavior does not change simply because governments have made international commitments. The book is divided into two parts. Part I looks at international systems for implementation review, through which parties share information, review performance, handle noncompliance, and adjust commitments. Part II looks at implementation at the national level, with particular attention to participation by governmental and nongovernmental actors and to problems in states with economies in transition. The book includes fourteen case studies that cover eight major areas of international environmental regulation: conservation and preservation of fauna and flora, stratospheric ozone depletion, pollution in the Baltic Sea, pollution in the North Sea, trade in hazardous chemicals and pesticides, air pollution in Europe, whaling, and marine dumping of nuclear waste. Contributors: Steinar Andresen, Juan Carlos di Primio, Owen Greene, Ronnie Hjorth, Vladimir Kotov, John Lanchbery, Elena Nikitina, Kal Raustiala, Alexei Roginko, Jon Birger Skjærseth, Eugene B. Skolnikoff, Olav Schram Stokke, David G. Victor, Jørgen Wettestad. Copublished with the International Institute for Applied Systems AnalysisRead More