Synopses & Reviews
foreword by Mario Molina As Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) from 1976 to 1992, Mostafa K. Tolba had as much insight into, and influence on, the development of international environmental policy as anyone. In this book, he tells the story of the negotiations that led to a number of landmark agreements, such as the Vienna Convention on Ozone and its Montreal Protocol, the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes, and the Biodiversity Convention. The book stands as the legacy of an important and charismatic figure who played a pivotal role during the first phase of global environmental diplomacy.Tolba concentrates on the context in which governments conclude that particular issues are ripe for binding international cooperation and on the factors that influence them during negotiations--such as science, the media, nongovernmental organizations, politicians, business and industry, and the public. The areas he discusses include the evolution of environmental law, environmental soft laws (principles and guidelines rather than treaties), binding regional regimes such as the Regional Seas Program and the Shared Freshwater Resources Program, the ozone layer, global warming, hazardous wastes, the loss of biological diversity, and ways to make international agreements work.
Review
"As a memoir of a new kind of diplomacy for a new kind of world, [ Global Environmental Diplomacy] is destined to become an important historical document." Fred Pearce Times Higher Education Supplement The MIT Press
Review
"Should not be missed by students of foreign affairs, international lawyers, budding diplomats, or serious environmentalists." Arthur H. Westing Environment The MIT Press
Review
"This book makes fascinating reading about the efforts to bring about major international environmental treaties thus creating the basis and inspiration for further action." Birgitta Dahl , Speaker of the Swedish Parliament, and Chairman, UN Secretary-General's High-Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development The MIT Press
Synopsis
Tolba tells the story of the negotiations that led to a number of landmark agreements, such as the Vienna Convention on Ozone and its Montreal Protocol, the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes, and the Biodiversity Convention.
Synopsis
As Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) from 1976 to 1992, Mostafa K. Tolba had as much insight into, and influence on, the development of international environmental policy as anyone. In this book, he tells the story of the negotiations that led to a number of landmark agreements, such as the Vienna Convention on Ozone and its Montreal Protocol, the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes, and the Biodiversity Convention. The book stands as the legacy of an important and charismatic figure who played a pivotal role during the first phase of global environmental diplomacy.