The Global Environment: Institutions, Law and Policy (review)

The Global Environment: Institutions, Law and Policy provides a comprehensive, lucid and analytical introduction to the key elements of international environmental politics. Its fourteen chapters are written by scholars and practitioners in international relations, political science, policy studies, comparative politics and international law. The examples and case studies presented are accessible and memorable.

The book is divided into three sections, with analysis progressing from theoretical aspects of global environmental politics to an appraisal of practical examples. The first section considers international environmental institutions, law, and regimes generally. A second section examines specific global environmental regimes and associated issues. A third section addresses national and regional approaches to implementing global environmental policy.

In the introduction, Norman Vig reviews relevant theory from international relations, and warns the reader that the contributors "share some of the pessimism about trends in global environmental governance in the past decade" (p. 3). This pessimism comes through in the chapter by Marvin Soroos on the evolution of global environmental institutions, as he notes the difficulty in conceiving "of circumstances in which states would be willing to relinquish or pool their sovereignty to substantially strengthen global institutions . . ." (p. 39). Soroos argues that at present there seems to be no "viable alternative" (p. 40) to the questionable efficiency of the current decentralized, problem-specific approach to addressing global environmental policies. Philippe Sands' and Jacqueline Peel's contribution on international environmental law, and David Leonard Downie's chapter on regimes, discuss the broader framework within which the global environment is governed. While Sands and Peel note an increased focus on implementation and enforcement, Downie highlights both the difficulty of, and potential for, addressing complex global environment problems. Building on this theoretical background, John McCormick examines the role of environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in international regimes. Missing, however, is a discussion of the important role of other non-state actors, such as business and industry groups, and indigenous peoples' organizations.

The second section of the book focuses on global environmental policies. Michele Betsill examines the climate change regime. Although the book's publication date came just before the Kyoto Protocol's entry into force, Betsill's chapter remains relevant. She emphasizes the broader effects triggered by, but not confined to, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol. Downie, Jonathan Kruger, and Henrik Selin evaluate the global policy for hazardous substances. They take "a longer view in evaluating the new environmental regimes that are emerging" (p. 3) that Vig suggests in the book's introduction, providing a detailed analysis of present and future challenges facing an effective regime on hazardous chemicals. They conclude that the "lasting implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions could prove impossible" if these challenges are not addressed (p. 141). This section also includes a chapter on the relationship between trade liberalization and environment by Daniel Esty. Michael Faure and Jürgen Lefevere discuss compliance with global environmental policy, observing a shift from the more traditional "enforcement approach" to compliance, to a "managerial approach" as evidenced under the Montreal Protocol.

The essays in the final section analyze national and regional efforts to implement global environmental policy. Elizabeth DeSombre explains the unilateralism of the United States in global environmental policy as being a result of domestic regulation and industry's influence on the Senate. Regina Axelrod, Norman Vig and Miranda Schreurs highlight the EU's move towards subsidiarity and warn that challenges posed by enlargement and economic stagnation may endanger its commitment to environmental protection. Adil Najam examines "the collective behavior of developing countries in global environmental politics" (p. 225), concluding that the interest these countries have in participating in international environmental processes is decreasing. The book closes with essays analyzing how two countries have addressed challenges posed by sustainable development. Lawrence Sullivan examines the Chinese government's sustainable development rhetoric behind, and threats posed by, the Three Gorges Dam, and Regina Axelrod explores the Czech government's lack of adoption of sustainable development policies, using...