The Economics Of International Environmental Cooperation

'Helm's book is impressive for its combination of rigorous theory in real world contexts . . . highly recommended.' - David Pearce, Environmental and Resource Economics To deal effectively with transboundary environmental problems such as climate change, it is important to have an idea of the model for an 'efficient' and 'fair' policy. An understanding of the strategic interactions involved in the international decision-making process is also essential. Carsten Helm uses rigorous theoretical reasoning and applications to address these issues.

This title was first published in 2000: Conflicts between developed and developing countries over global environmental problems, and the fact that the co-operation required to solve environmental collective action problems is typically elusive in the world of international relations, suggests a research agenda regarding how one might hop to bring about co-operation in an inherently non-co-operative international setting. In particular, what can economic theory tell us about the design of international environmental agreements (IEAs) that will protect the world's fragile environmental resources? This book collects work on IEAs which demonstrates the value of rigorous microeconomic and econometric modelling in comprehending the many and varied facets of the design and implementation in IEAs.

International environmental agreements provide a basis for countries to address ecological problems on a global scale. However, countries are heterogeneous with respect to their economic structures and to the problems relating to the environment that they encounter. Therefore, economic externalities and global environmental conflicts are common and can cause problems in implementation and compliance with international agreements. Economics of International Environmental Agreements illuminates those issues and factors that might cause some countries or firms to take different positions on common problems. This book explores why international environmental agreements deal with some problems successfully but fail with others. The chapters address issues that are global in nature, such as: transboundary pollution, provision of global public goods, individual preferences of inequality- aversion, global cooperation, self-enforcing international environmental agreements, emission standards, abatement costs, environmental quota, technology agreement and adoption and international institutions. They examine the necessary conditions for the improved performance of international environmental agreements, how cooperation among countries can be improved and the incentives that can be created for voluntary compliance with international environmental agreements. This text is of great importance to academics, students and policy makers who are interested in environmental economics, policy and politics, as well as environmental law.

The book looks at environmental issues calling for international cooperation, such as river management, transboundary air pollution, and climate. It analyses methods used to reduce free-riding in protecting the commons. Agreements considered successful - e.g. the Montreal Protocol - are contrasted with those - e.g. UNFCCC - that are less effective.

This volume provides an up-to-the-minute review of the open economy approach to analyzing environmental problems and policies, which has produced a wealth of research over the past decade. It contains non-technical, issue-oriented, and comprehensive surveys written by specialists in international and environmental economics. The volume will appeal to scholars and students of economics and political science.

The environment has been increasingly threatened in recent years. Notable examples are the rapid increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the loss of biodiversity. Since environmental resources, as well as their absorptive capacity for emissions, are not confined to national borders, governments face new challenges in designing institutions and developing instruments for environmental policy. In this volume, experts from all over the world discuss the nature of these challenges and the basic elements needed for a solution to international environmental problems. Of special interest are the implementation of international environmental agreements and how conflicts between efficient solutions and political constraints affect the content of international environmental agreements.