Clustering of Multilateral Environmental Agreements: Potentials and Limitations

The concept of clustering of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), i.e. the integration of groups of MEAs or parts thereof, has acquired prominence in recent discussions about reforming international environmental governance. Understood as a continuing process, clustering of MEAs aims at advancing the ongoing process of integrating the elements of this system more systematically and dynamically. This paper proceeds in three steps. First, it demonstrates that a distinction needs to be made between clustering of organisational elements of MEAs and their functions, since the conditions and the effects of their integration differ significantly. Second, it argues that – in contrast to several existing approaches that seek to build clusters starting from similarities in one dimension – any attempt to integrate elements of MEAs needs to be based upon the analysis of a range of factors that influence the prospects of such integration (including overlap of membership and issues, practical feasibility, legal obstacles, and functional requirements). Third, the article contrasts the main potential benefits of a clustering of MEAs, namely efficiency gains and an increase in the coherence of international environmental governance, with the main challenges of international environmental policy, namely reaching agreement, implementing such agreement effectively and preventing/managing inter-institutional conflict. While clustering cannot be expected to make a significant direct contribution to addressing these challenges, it has a potential to economise and enhance the system of international environmental governance with positive indirect effects promoting better international environmental protection in the longer term.     

Multicriteria Decision Aid to support Multilateral Environmental Agreements in assessing international forestry projects

The three Rio Conventions—the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification—face the challenge to create synergies at different levels. The objective of this article is to describe how we have assessed synergies between the Rio Conventions at the project level in the forest sector. Since the complexity of the decision problem is high, we adopted the Multicriteria Decision Aid approach, which can provide a broad insight into the decision problem and find a compromise solution to a problem with multidimensional and conflicting criteria including social, economic and environmental features. The ELECTRE TRI model was used for assessing synergies at the project level, and has been a useful tool to quantify the performance of afforestation and reforestation projects into three categories (synergistic, reasonably synergistic, and not synergistic). For the first time, afforestation and reforestation projects have been assessed in a comprehensive way through decision criteria that reflect global and local interests using a non-compensatory multicriteria method.     

论可持续发展战略与我国环境保护法律的融合

近年来,可持续发展战略已成为国际立法的重要指导思想和原则,也是我国的总体发展战略。然而,我国现行的环境保护法律已不能完全适应当前经济与社会发展、人与自然和谐相处的基本需要,应当尽快建立以可持续发展战略为中心和基本原则的环境保护法律体制,导入认识自然、重视自然、利用自然、人与自然和谐相处的现代思想,改变现行法律“经济优先”的立法倾向,增设“可持续发展”为基本原则的规定,建立和完善相应的环境保护法律制度。     

可持续发展与环境伦理探析

可持续发展理论与实践促进了环境伦理学的发展。传统意义上的环境伦理受此观念影响,从人类中心主义的环境伦理与非人类中心主义的环境伦理的分立走向人类中心主义的环境伦理、非人类中心主义环境伦理和可持续发展的环境伦理的鼎立。可持续发展观念指导下的环境伦理强调生态伦理道德和生态价值观,将环境与发展、当前利益与长远利益有机地统一起来,是环境保护唯一正确的选择。     

WTO的环境立场与环境规则

当环境保护和可持续发展成为世界主流之时,作为经济贸易协调机制的GATT-WTO也对之充分重视。通过30年的研究、讨论、争端解决过程,WTO逐渐确立了其对环境问题的态度,在贸易规则中加入环境保护的内容。但是这些规则仍有待于进一步深化、具体和明确。可以预期环境问题将会成为国际贸易中的主要问题,面临着2002年约翰内斯堡世界可持续发展峰会,WTO的多哈回合会在环境问题上建立更多的规则。中国应当在国际法和国内法层面为实现可持续发展努力。     

论多边贸易体制中的环境保护问题及其发展趋势

在多边贸易体制中如何实现环境保护与贸易自由的协调发展 ,这是一个“国际贸易新问题” ,GATT规则及其争端解决实践对此问题基本上持回避、谨慎的态度。随着WTO的建立 ,多边贸易体制对环境保护问题的关注度则明显加强 ,特别是WTO上诉机构的争端解决实践 ,表明WTO的价值天平向环境保护倾斜的趋势似乎在逐步明显。多哈会谈及坎昆部长会议则再次显示多边贸易体制对环境问题的妥协。环境问题在多边贸易体制中的这种发展趋势将会对发展中国家的贸易安全提出严峻挑战。     

Codifying Temporary Stability? The Role of Interinstitutional Agreements in Budgetary Politics

Abstract:  The article analyses the potential of Interinstitutional Agreements (IIAs) for resolving conflicts in the field of EU budgetary policy. In the 1970s and 1980s, annual budgetary procedures were characterised by intense interinstitutional battles, mainly between the Council and the European Parliament. IIAs concluded during this period tried to clarify pertinent Treaty provisions, but proved to be insufficient to resolve budgetary conflicts stemming from the more general problem of the uneven allocation of budgetary and legislative power between the two institutions involved. It was not before the fundamental budgetary reform in 1988—agreed upon by the European Council and implemented through an IIA along with the gradually increased role in legislative politics granted to European Parliament through several Treaty amendments—that budgetary stability—arrived. Hence, IIAs can be regarded as an improper means to solve profound constitutional problems. Yet, they can be considered as suitable tools to arrange technical details.     

环境法律政策内部整合理论探讨

环境法律政策的整合是环境法体系得以发挥其效力的基础,是环境整体性所要求。环境法律政策内部整合是将各部门绿化后的法律政策,通过某种机制使之系统化,追求环境治理规则的最优,避免碎片化和相互冲突的不协调性。可持续发展概念和巨系统理论以及环境问题亟待解决的需求,增强了环境法律政策内部整合的理论与现实驱动力。基于整合的理念,环境法律政策的未来改革应该是从整合的认知框架和立法模式的路径上,提出具体制度设计。     

Building of a Dissension Settlement Mechanism in the China's Environmental Code

It is not currently appropriate to make detailed provisions on an ecological and environmental dissension settlement mechanism in the would-be China's environmental code (Code), given the prevailing mechanism status in China. Such provisions need to be appropriately selected under the philosophy of moderate codification, and various methods should be adopted according to the actual situation of the specific system. Contradictions between various systems should be removed in the compiling of this Code, which eventually would make an ecological and environmental dissension settlement mechanism with complementary functions and procedural coordination, ensuring that ecological and environmental dissensions can be smoothly resolved within the updated framework, and damaged interests can be fully remedied.     

Attainability of International Environmental Agreements as a Social Situation

This paper applies the theory of social situations to study whether international environmental agreements (IEAs), mainly those on greenhouse gas emission reductions, can be attained. A game theoretic model is generally a black box for decision makers, where the mechanisms, which lead to solution(s) of the game, are not explicitly pointed out. This paper opens this black box by making the (institutional) move rules explicit. The usual pessimistic outcome with an ineffective and small size of stable coalitions among world regions is countered. Our model challenges conventional wisdom in the sense that large coalitions are possible outcomes of the cartel game, namely by incorporating: (1) farsightedness, and (2) coalitional moves with commitment as an alternative to myopic and individual moves which characterise the cartel game. We show that even if the international negotiations on climate change mitigation are modelled as an n-person prisoner's dilemma, one cannot rule out cooperation among world regions as a solution of the game. Indeed, in most analysed situations the grand coalition is among the solutions of the game. This shows that predictions based on cartel stability may be too pessimistic if it comes to analysing incentives to cooperate in implementing international environmental policy. Moreover, in an empirically calibrated model, we find three out of six instances where Russia (with or without the US) has an incentive to sign the Kyoto protocol.     

Agreements of Economic Integration and the Choice of National Environmental Policies

This paper analyzes the question whether and in which respect agreements of (regional) economic integration affect the choice of environmental policies by individual countries. We focus our interdisciplinary analysis on the agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). We find that these agreements primarily restrict a country's choice among possible instruments to achieve a certain environmental level or target, but do, in principle, not restrict its choice with regard to the environmental target or level itself. We also show that this type of restriction is likely to benefit the individual countries and the world as a whole because it tends to promote the implementation of more efficient environmental policy instruments. A brief analysis of the case of Switzerland illustrates this point.     

The Role of the State and International Organizations inReconciling Sustainable Development and Globalization

The concepts of sustainable development and globalization have developed separately, with little recognition that there is significant overlap between them. This article seeks to argue that there is a need to try to reconcile these concepts and that, in particular, it is a fundamental mistake to consider globalization as inevitable whilst seeing sustainable development as an optional policy choice. In seeking to achieve this reconciliation, the role of the State and international organizations in maintaining public governance is reaffirmed.     

国际金融服务贸易的多边法律框架——WTO与金融服务贸易有关的协议评析

就国际金融服务贸易而言 ,WTO的重要性在于将金融服务贸易首次纳入多边贸易体制 ,并制定了一系列与金融服务有关的协议 :GATS、《金融服务附件》、《关于金融服务承诺的谅解》、《金融服务协议》 ,从而构建了国际金融服务贸易的多边法律框架。其主要内容包括 :国际金融服务贸易自由化的规则和纪律 ,影响国际金融服务贸易的国内法规的协调、承认和实施 ,国际金融服务贸易争议的解决。此框架是2 0世纪以来国际金融法领域最重要的制度创新 ,它是具有约束力的国际协议 ,以效率为其基本价值取向。     

经济法在可持续发展中的作用

可持续发展作为现代经济发展新的模式 ,已引起愈来愈广泛的关注。经济法是调整在国家协调和干预经济运行过程中所发生的经济关系的法律规范的总称。本文通过可持续发展的内涵、经济法的本质、可持续发展与经济法的关系探讨了经济法在可持续发展中的作用。     

Environmental Governance: The Role of Institutions in Causing and Confronting Environmental Problems

This article describes and explains in accessible terms major findings arising from the work of the long-term international research project on the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (IDGEC). In analyzing the roles institutions play in both causing and confronting environmental problems, the project directs attention to three analytic themes – known as the problems of fit, interplay, and scale – and seeks to illuminate these concerns through empirical studies of marine, terrestrial, and atmospheric systems. IDGEC science has highlighted the pervasiveness of institutional misfits and begun to identify the reasons why misfits often prove difficult to eliminate, even when their existence becomes widely known. Research conducted under the auspices of the project demonstrates the growing impact of national and even international institutions on the effectiveness of local resource regimes. Similarly, IDGEC research has identified reasons why policy instruments that work well at the national level (e.g., tradable permits) are frequently difficult or impossible to transfer to the international level. To make the discussion of these findings concrete, the project has explored the problem of fit with particular reference to the performance of Exclusive Economic Zones, the problem of interplay through an analysis of the fate of tropical forests, and the problem of scale through an account of the limits of emissions trading as a policy instrument in the climate change regime.