GEG Bookshelf
Listed below are select books, articles, and papers in the field of global environmental governance, written by a range of academics and practitioners, listed in chronological order. If you have suggestions for additions to our Bookshelf, please submit them to info@environmentalgovernance.org.
NEW: North American Civil Society Input on UNEP International Environmental Governance Reform
Documents for upcoming Consultative Group meeting in Nairobi, Kenya 7-9 July 2010
Speech of the Executive Director on IEG and Sustainable Development Governance, 18 May 2010
Draft Agenda for the First Consultative Meeting
Ideas for Broader Reform of IEG
Documents on International Environmental Governance from the Intergovernmental Consultation Process in the United Nations
GCSS.XI/1 Decision on International Environmental Governance
GCSS.XI/4 “Options for Improving International Environmental Governance“
GCSS.XI/4 Annex “Set of Options for Improving International Environmental Governance
GCSS.XI/4 Annex 1 “UNEP Governing Council Decision 25/4″
GCSS.XI/4 Annex 2 “The Belgrade Process”
Executive Director Achim Steiner’s letter on International Environmental Governance
In Preparation for the upcoming July 2010 Ministerial Meeting, UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner is soliciting comments on key documents for the ministerial discussions and constructive ideas on broad institutional reform:
An information note entitled Environment in the UN System
An informational note on United Nations Specialised Agencies and United Nations Programmes
A background paper on Options on Broader Reform of International Environmental Governance
Please submit feedback either in an email to info@environmentalgovernance.org or on our Facebook page by June 1, 2010. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Maria Ivanova at maria.ivanova@environmentalgovernance.org
Global Sustainability- A Nobel Cause
Edited by Hans Joachin Schellnhuber, Mario Molina, Nicholas Stern, Veronika Huber, and Susanne Kadner. Published by the Cambridge University Press. 2010.
We face a complex set of interrelated challenges, including climate stabilization, energy security, sustainable land use, and equitable development, argue the authors. This book extends the Potsdam Nobel Laureates Symposium, which brought together Nobel Prize winners, renowned scientific experts and other eminent public figures to discuss sustainability. Download the book, here.
Towards a New Economy and a New Politics (Speech)
James Gustave Speth. Published by Solutions Journal, May 2010.
The U.S. political economy is failing across a broad front-environmentally, socially, economically, and politically. Deep, systemic change is needed to transition to a new economy, one where the acknowledged priority is to sustain human and natural communities. Policies are available to effect this transformation and to temper economic growth and consumerism while simultaneously improving social well-being and quality of life, but a new politics involving a coalescing of progressive communities is needed to realize these policies. Read the speech here.
From Stockholm to Johannesburg and Beyond
Lars-Göran Engfeldt. Published by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, June 2009.
A chronological history and behind-the-scenes analysis of the origins and evolution of the international system that today governs sustainable development, From Stockholm to Johannesburg and Beyond, follows the “Stockholm-Rio-Johannesburg process.” Beginning in 1967, the study analyzes the 
Swedish proposal that the UN General Assembly convene a conference on the environment. It presents a critical look at the constraints faced in the operational follow-up, including lack of accountability, draws attention to the secret group of western industrialized countries that worked against follow-up success of the Stockholm conference and gives high marks to the strong, creative leadership that supported the process throughout. Download the executive summary here.
Right Relationship, Building a Whole Earth Economy
Peter G. Brown and Geoffrey Garver. Published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., February 2009.
The current tension between limited resources and a economic system of endless growth and limitless potential wealth will result in “increasing destruction of the natural world and growing, sometimes lethal, tension between rich and poor,” argue Peter G. Brown and Geoffrey Garver. Instead, the Quaker principle of “right relationship” should be the foundation of our economic system, offering a interdependent relationship between human and natural communities to enable life’s commonwealth. Order.
The UNEP We Want
Mark Halle. Published by International Institute for Sustainable Development, October 2007.
After a September 2007 Swiss conference between the world’s top environmental bureaucrats, Mark Halle, a Global Environmental Governance Forum participant, published “The UNEP We Want.” Numerous GEG Forum Participants were also in attendance, including John Scanlon and Julia Marton-Lefèvre. The conference was convened to reflect on the nature and evolution of our environmental challenges within the role of UNEP in as a mechanism to deploy needed responses. Additionally, the paper aimed to provide inputs for the drawing up of UNEP’s Medium-Term Strategy (2010-2013). Read here.
The Art and Craft of International Environmental Law
Daniel Bodansky. Published by Harvard University Press, November 2009.
Intended for a general audience, this book focuses on the processes by which international environmental law is developed, implemented, and enforced. Its goal is to provide a real-world perspective on how environmental law works—and sometimes doesn’t work. Bodansky examines how traditional law, environmental norms, and international institutions shape contemporary international environmental law. The Art and Craft of International Environmental Law will be published in November 2009; the introductory chapter is available now. More information.
Environmental Sustainability and the Financial Crisis:
Linkages and Policy Recommendations
Jennifer Clapp, Eric Helleiner, Annette Hester, Thomas Homer-Dixon, Ian H. Rowlands, Linda Swanston, Jason Thistlethwaite, Debora L. VanNijnatten and John Whalley. Published by Centre for International Governance Innovation Working Group on Environment and Resources, September 2009.
Clapp and Swanston write, “As the global economic crisis and recovery continue to unfold, it is important not to lose sight of the environment amid fiscal stimulus efforts and economic reorientation.” The authors argue that economic prosperity cannot be pursued at the expense of environmental sustainability. Further, long-term economic prosperity requires a strong and healthy ecosystem at its base. Papers presented in this publication outline and highlight unique challenges and opportunities for policy makers in the face of the current economic crisis. Available here.
International Organizations in Environmental Governance
Edited by Frank Biermann, Bernd Siebenhüner & Anna Schreyögg. Published by Routledge, 2009.
This volume provides a comparative study of the role of international organizations in environmental governance. Whilst a growing body of literature considers global governance in a number of policy areas, this volume delivers one of the first comprehensive accounts of international organizations in relation to environmental policy. Order.
Stockholm, Rio, Johannesburg: Brazil & the Three United Nations Conferences on the Environment
André Aranha Corrêa do Lago. Published by Fundção Alexandre de Gusmão, 2009.
This publication details the history of global environmental governance, contextualizing it within the evolution of Brazil’s position on foreign environmental policy throughout the three main international environmental conferences.
Bridge at the End of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, & Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability
James Gustave Speth. Published by Yale University Press, 2008.
This book argues that the U.S. capitalist economy, with its emphasis on continuous robust growth, is at loggerheads with the environment. If Americans do not rein in spending, Speth contends, only one result is assured. If we do not learn to consume less, we will consume the biosphere itself in our binge. More information.
Dictionary and Introduction to Global Environmental Governance
Richard E. Saunier & Richard A. Meganck. Published by Earthscan, 2007.
This unique dictionary provides a compilation of over 5,500 terms, organizations and acronyms relating to the field of global environmental governance. The result is a practical tool that should find a central place on the desk of anyone involved in environmental management, development or sustainability issues anywhere in the world. Order.
Global Environmental Governance
James Gustave Speth and Peter M. Haas. Published by Island Press, 2006.
This publication offers the essential information, theory, and practical insight needed to tackle the critical challenge of global environmental issues. It examines ten major environmental threats and explores how they can be addressed through treaties, governance regimes, and new forms of international cooperation. Order.
Global Environmental Institutions
Elizabeth R. DeSombre. Published by Routledge, 2006.
This volume provides an overview of the major global institutions attempting to protect the natural environment. It considers the entities within the UN system which play important roles and examines institutions clustered by issue area. It concludes with current debate of whether the institutional structure of global environmental governance can, and should, be fundamentally reformed. Order.
Global Environmental Politics
Pamela S. Chasek, Janet W. Brown, & David L. Downie. Published by Westview Press, 2006.
This publication provides an overview of global environmental issues and contextualizes key events throughout the history of global environmental governance. It also explores the complex set of various international actors involved in the multilateral interaction attempting to address these issues. More information.
Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment
James Gustave Speth. Published by Yale University Press, 2004.
This publication shows that ensuring a livable, peaceful planet for upcoming generations will require extraordinary new initiatives, a mobilized civil society, and respect for the unprecedented ethical position in which we find ourselves. For most of history, the fate of Earth has been outside the realm of human control. Now, for the first time, we are affecting the planet on a global scale. Our activities and decisions will steer the course of its future. With this new power to destroy or save must come a new level of responsibility to all citizens of Earth, Speth argues. Red Sky at Morning will arm global citizens with the information they need to take responsibility and to effect change before it is too late. Order.
