Strengthening international environmental governance by two-phased reform of UNEP: Analysis of benefits and drawbacks

Olsen, Simon Hoiberg ; Elder, Mark

World Resources Institute

ISBN  :  978-4-88788-091-7

学科分类：环境科学（综合）

日本|英语

来源: Institute for Global Environmental Strategies Report

【 摘 要 】

This paper aims to contribute to the debate on strengthening international environmental governance (IEG) architecture towards more effectively promoting environmental sustainability. To this end, the paper will analyse two broad reform options: 1) introducing universal membership of UNEP’s Governing Council, and 2) elevating the status of UNEP to a specialized agency. The paper will analyze the broad reform options by focusing on their legal, financial and structural implications as well as on potential benefits and drawbacks of each option. In addition to these broad reform options, the paper acknowledges the importance of incremental reform of environmental governance that is taking place to enhance efficiency of environment work within the United Nations (UN) and on national levels. While these incremental improvements are valuable, the paper argues broader reform of IEG and UNEP in particular will be necessary to improve environmental governance, as stronger legal clout is ultimately necessary to arrive at more effective environmental governance architecture. Proposing broader reform, the paper argues that the two summarized IEG reform options should be implemented in a phased approach, and that benefits of broader reform would accrue not only to international environmental policy making, but also strengthen the role of environmental vis-à-vis economic policy making on national and local levels. Thus, the paper recommends that countries’ and citizens’ support the broad IEG reform options for the benefit of both international and national environmental governance.

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