ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
its nature and extent are widely debated. Whilst many of the processes of
globalisation are hardly new – the expansion, extension and integration of
international economies has been happening for several hundred years – as
Lipschutz ( 2004 )observes, ‘What is new is the scale and volume of capital-
ist expansion and the commodification of things never before exchanged in
markets, such as genes, air pollution, and whale watching’ (p. 122). Thus eco-
nomic globalisation has seen a massive growth in global trade, investment
and finance, but the implications for the environment are hotly contested;
some see globalisation as a positive development, whilst others regard it
in profoundly negative terms. A similar debate surrounds the specific issue
of free trade, which is a key driver of globalisation. The opening sections
of this chapter therefore introduce debates about the relationship between
globalisation and the environment, and between international trade and the
environment. The chapter then examines the major institutions governing
global trade today. First, it analyses the way the environment is treated by
theWorld Trade Organisation (WTO), which is the global institution respon-
sible for applying international trade rules. It then assesses the impact on
theenvironment of the two most important regional trading agreements:
theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the European Union
(EU).◗ Globalisation and the environment
Globalisation is a hotly contested idea. With major disagreements over what
the term evenrefersto,itishardly surprising to find sharply contrasting
views of its significance. Some observers regard it as involving a fundamen-
tal transformation of the world over the last thirty years or so, while others
deny that any major change has occurred.^1 There is also considerable dis-
agreement over the extent of the empirical changes involved in globalisa-
tion. Rather than engage in a definitional debate, ‘globalisation’ will be used
here quite narrowly to refer to those processes that are integrating the global
economy: an intensification of capitalist production indicated by the increas-
ing mobility and velocity of capital, the deregulation of economic activity,
an increasingly global division of labour, the absence of social protection, a
changing role for the state and the rapid growth in communication links.^2
Furthermore, there seems to be a general acceptance within the study of
environmental politics that globalisation is happening, with the battle-lines
having been drawn up over whether or not globalisation is good or bad for
theenvironment. Consequently, the discussion here accepts this assumption
and focuses on its implications for the environment.
The case that globalisation is beneficial for the environment is made most
enthusiastically by market liberals, such as Bhagwati ( 2004 ). The thrust
of their argument is that globalisation is an ‘engine of wealth creation’:
theglobalisation and liberalisation of trade, investment and finance is
increasing the global wealth (measured by per capita GDP) that will fund