The Effectiveness and Legitimacy of International Environmental Institutions

The Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) concluded during the past decades have established complex interlinkages between the institutions established by MEAs and institutions such as UNEP, UNDP and the World Bank and the funds administered by the Bank, in particular the GEF. Questions regarding the effectiveness and legitimacy of this system of global environmental governance have arisen both in practice and in research. This essay explores the manner in which these questions have arisen, how they have been addressed in recent research and provides the context for the subsequent contributions to this special issue. Steinar Andresen is professor of political science at the University of Oslo, Ellen Hey is professor of public international law at the Erasmus University, Rotterdam.