Preface to the Second Edition

Forty-five years after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, 25 years after the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, 15 years after the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, and 5 years after the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, commonly known as Rio+20, it is high time to take stock of the evolution of global ecopolitics.

The idea of writing a short, concise treatment of global environmental governance was first broached by the University of Toronto Press, which was looking into a longer term project involving a series of short texts. Faithfully, I began working with the intention of creating just such a brief text. But I soon abandoned this idea as I realized that there was simply too much to say about too many complex issue-areas. I did strive to keep this text as short as humanly possible, however, and have presented but a fraction of the material, including historical analysis and policy option debates, that a reader should have access to if he or she wants a sound education in global ecopolitics. I enthusiastically refer the reader, therefore, to competing texts (Bodansky, 2010; Clapp & Dauvergne, 2008; DeSombre, 2006; Pirages & DeGeest, 2004), as well as to the Earth System Governance Project of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (Biermann et al., 2009), though I also hope this book will serve to both enlighten and encourage further reading, reflection, action, and resolve on our collective environmental dilemmas.

I focus on several themes in this book, and one of them is that of anxious uncertainty, which seems to animate much of the public discussion on planetary futures today; and the theme of justice looms large because a humane and fair response to the anxiety that accompanies crisis is what defines the best of the human spirit. Fears of cataclysmic events—ones related both to climate change and to more “natural” disasters—are certainly ripe and have been exacerbated by recent political events. They may almost be compared to the fear of nuclear annihilation that marked the Cold War period (a fear I recall quite clearly as a young scholar of international relations at that time). But I would suggest we suffer our primary angst because of the gnawing knowledge that we are slowly, by a billion cuts, diminishing the future opportunities of the next generation. We realize that some of the more pressing environmental problems, on a local and global scale, are literally out of control. We realize that the incessant belief in unrestricted economic growth is as passé as the blind faith in technology that once reassured the mildly concerned. It is commonly understood that species are nearing extinction or reaching it on a daily basis; that air, water, and soil pollution is increasing dramatically in some regions; and that the oceans are in ecological turmoil. Yet there is little corresponding sense of a collective plan to escape these predicaments, and key political actors seem at best to offer contradictory evidence that they care.

To be clear, this book does not provide this plan. But it does suggest that we are working toward one, that we can succeed, and that we must succeed. The sheer volume of work being done by diplomats, scientists, activists, bureaucrats, and others is, in itself, a sign of hope: never before has so much activity been concentrated on efforts to solve the pressing problems of environmental decay and ecological injury. Contrary to popular opinion, there is much being done at both the international and local levels, even though ameliorative actions may be uneven and often uncoordinated. I covered only a fraction of this work in the first edition of this book, and cannot hope to cover but a small parcel of what has been added since. Perhaps most remarkably, the ambitious 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals have emerged as both a rubric for international guidance and a constant exhortation to move ahead in a progressive fashion. Though I suggest it is vital to use a critical eye when viewing global ecopolitics, I do not ascribe to the notion that we are helplessly watching the advent of a disaster. We can take positive steps, rooted in a nuanced understanding of green politics and international relations, to make things better.

We need to overcome relentless uncertainty and helplessness with firm, educated resolve. Given the foundational efforts at global governance described in this book, there is even cause for restrained optimism. I loosely use a parsimonious framework to analyze the collective governance that has emerged from global ecopolitics, observing legal and historical depth, environmental impact, cognitive evolution, and democratic legitimacy. In most of the cases I examine, there has been some measure of success in all of these categories. Of course, this does not diminish the reality of the ecological crisis we face, or diminish the size of the challenges ahead. But we can move on from here, even if we are also aware that there will always be drawbacks and limitations given the gloriously competitive but all too often unfair structure of the world economy. This book is intended as an analytic introduction to the dazzling promises, as well as the inherent weaknesses, of the international institutions and arrangements that color the fascinating landscape of global ecopolitics. But, above all, I hope it encourages readers to seek more knowledge—and take personal steps toward a greener lifestyle and a more humane world.