Global Environmental Problems and International Environmental Agreements: The Economics of International Institution Building - Hardcover

`This book is important reading for economists and other social scientists and administrators interested in international environmental agreements and their implementation.' -- Raymond Mikesell, The Economic Journal `Negotiating international environmental regimes is traditionally viewed as a task for lawyers and diplomats. This study - commissioned by the secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development - takes a fresh look, through an economist's lens.' -- Peter H. Sand, Environment `The presentation of the economic material is first-rate, one of the best summaries of the field that I have read. The writing is clear and crisp, and the theory is leavened with wonderfully instructive examples . . . The book is likely to be the seminal piece in this area.' -- Thomas S. Ulen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US

The ozone layer is threatened by chemical emissions, the climate is endangered from fossil fuels and deforestation, and global biodiversity is being lost by reason of thousands of years of habitat conversions. Global environmental problems arise out of the accumulated impacts from many years' and many countries' economic development. In order to address these problems the states of the world must cooperate to manage their development processes together - this is what international environmental agreements are designed to do. But can the world's countries cooperate successfully to manage global development? How should they manage it? Who should pay for the process, as well as for the underlying problems? This book presents an examination of both the problems and the processes underlying international environmental lawmaking: the recognition of international interdependence, the negotiation of international agreements and the evolution of international resource management. It examines the general problem of global resource management by means of general principles and case studies and by looking at how and why specific negotiations and agreements have failed to achieve their targets. The book, commissioned by UNCTAD to assist policymakers, especially in developing countries. It will also be of interest to practitioners in the areas of environmental economics and law and to scholars studying global environmental policy making and institution building.