Science and International Environmental Policy

The proliferation of environmental agreements is a defining feature of modern international relations that has attracted considerable academic attention. The cooperation literature focuses on stories of policy creation, and ignores issue areas where policy agreements are absent. Science and International Environmental Policy introduces nonregimes into the study of global governance, and compares successes with failures in the formation of environmental treaties. By exploring collective decisions not to cooperate, it explains why international institutions form but also why, when, and how they do not emerge. The book is a structured comparison of global policy responses to four ecological problems: deforestation, coral reefs degradation, ozone depletion, and acid rain. It explores the connection between knowledge and action in world politics by investigating the role of scientific information in environmental management. The study shows that different types of expert information play uneven roles in policymaking. Extensive analysis of multilateral scientific assessments, participatory observation of negotiations, and interviews with policymakers and scientists reveal that some kinds of information are critical requirements for policy creation while other types are less influential. Moreover, the state of knowledge on ecological problems is not a function of sociopolitical power. By disaggregating the concept of 'knowledge,' the book solves contradictions in previous theoretical work and offers a compelling account of the interplay between knowledge, interests, and power in global environmental politics.

Everyone knows that scientific information matters in understanding international environmental cooperation. In this book, Radoslav Dimitrov provides a valuable service by showing us what kind of information matters. Importantly, he demonstrates that whatunderpins cases of international environmental cooperation is a shared understanding of negative transboundary consequences, even if information about the extent of a problem or its human-related causes is not conclusive. He evaluates his hypothesesin four rich cases including those where attempted global agreements were not reached (or where little attempt at international cooperation has been made), an essential and often overlooked aspect of understanding when states will succeed at cooperative agreements. He is careful to delineate the pieces of the puzzle he seeks to explain and what is outside the framework of his study. This is a framework that can - and should - be evaluated in many other cases; it will be important in predicting patternsof cooperation in emerging environmental issues., The type of knowledge about non-regimes matters! More precisely, two major innovations characterize Radoslav Dimitrov’s Science and International Environmental Policy. First, he innovatively untangles the roles which different types of knowledge play in the formation of international regimes, and second, he overcomes a major shortcoming of the international regime literature by explicitly including non-regime cases in his analysis. This book will ignite a productive debate – of relevance to academia and the practical design of international regimes alike., In this impressive book, Radoslav Dimitrov makes two important contributions to international environmental politics. He advances a novel, provocative and carefully argued claim about how scientific knowledge can influence formation of international environmental regimes; and he provides the first empirical investigation in this field that considers both instances of successful regime formation and failed attempts. In addition, the book's self-contained and well-written case histories, particularly of the under-examined issues of forests and coral reefs, will make it valuable for teaching., This book addresses a longstanding gap in research on the formation of international environmental regimes. Focusing on the role of scientific knowledge, Dimitrov sheds new light on the determinants of regime formation by comparing success stories with cases in which the parties cannot reach agreement, or even fail to initiate an effort to form a regime., Everyone knows that scientific information matters in understanding international environmental cooperation. In this book, Radoslav Dimitrov provides a valuable service by showing us what kind of information matters. Importantly, he demonstrates that what underpins cases of international environmental cooperation is a shared understanding of negative transboundary consequences, even if information about the extent of a problem or its human-related causes is not conclusive. He evaluates his hypotheses in four rich cases including those where attempted global agreements were not reached (or where little attempt at international cooperation has been made), an essential and often overlooked aspect of understanding when states will succeed at cooperative agreements. He is careful to delineate the pieces of the puzzle he seeks to explain and what is outside the framework of his study. This is a framework that can - and should - be evaluated in many other cases; it will be important in predicting patterns of cooperation in emerging environmental issues.

Radoslav S. Dimitrov is assistant professor of political science at University of Western Ontario. He teaches international relations and works at global environmental meetings as an analyst for the Earth Negotiations Bulletin.