Transparency in Global Environmental Governance: Critical Perspectives (Earth System Governance)

by Michael Mason (Author), Arthur P . J . Mol (Author), Bharath Jairaj (Author), Ann Florini (Author), Aarti Gupta (Author)

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Paperback
2014
$45.66

A critical assessment of whether transparency is a broadly transformative force in global environmental governance or plays a more limited role. Transparency-openness, secured through greater availability of information-is increasingly seen as part of the solution to a complex array of economic, political, and ethical problems in an interconnected world. The transparency turn in global environmental governance in particular is seen in a range of international agreements, voluntary disclosure initiatives, and public-private partnerships. This is the first book to investigate whether transparency in global environmental governance is in fact a broadly transformative force or plays a more limited, instrumental role. After three conceptual, context-setting chapters, the book examines ten specific and diverse instances of governance by disclosure. These include state-led mandatory disclosure initiatives that rely on such tools as prior informed consent and monitoring, measuring, reporting and verification; and private (or private-public), largely voluntary efforts that include such corporate transparency initiatives as the Carbon Disclosure Project and such certification schemes as the Forest Stewardship Council. The cases, which focus on issue areas including climate change, biodiversity, biotechnology, natural resource exploitation, and chemicals, demonstrate that although transparency is ubiquitous, its effects are limited and often specific to particular contexts. The book explores in what circumstances transparency can offer the possibility of a new emancipatory politics in global environmental governance.

Synopsis

A critical assessment of whether transparency is a broadly transformative force in global environmental governance or plays a more limited role. Transparency-openness, secured through greater availability of information-is increasingly seen as part of the solution to a complex array of economic, political, and ethical problems in an interconnected world. The transparency turn in global environmental governance in particular is seen in a range of international agreements, voluntary disclosure initiatives, and public-private partnerships. This is the first book to investigate whether transparency in global environmental governance is in fact a broadly transformative force or plays a more limited, instrumental role. After three conceptual, context-setting chapters, the book examines ten specific and diverse instances of governance by disclosure. These include state-led mandatory disclosure initiatives that rely on such tools as prior informed consent and monitoring, measuring, reporting and verification; and private (or private-public), largely voluntary efforts that include such corporate transparency initiatives as the Carbon Disclosure Project and such certification schemes as the Forest Stewardship Council. The cases, which focus on issue areas including climate change, biodiversity, biotechnology, natural resource exploitation, and chemicals, demonstrate that although transparency is ubiquitous, its effects are limited and often specific to particular contexts. The book explores in what circumstances transparency can offer the possibility of a new emancipatory politics in global environmental governance.

$45.66

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Edition: 1
Publisher: MIT Press
Published: 15 Aug 2014
ISBN 10: 0262526182
ISBN 13: 9780262526180
Book Overview: A critical assessment of the empirical and conceptual underpinnings of the 'transparency turn' in global environmental governance was long overdue. This collection by leading experts provides an invaluable contribution to the literature on this vital topic. -- Peter Newell, Professor of International Relations, University of Sussex; author of Globalization and the Environment: Capitalism, Ecology and Power Transparency in Global Environmental Governance is a stand-out volume. This well-researched and timely collection thoughtfully considers the potential and limitations of transparency and information disclosure as governance mechanisms across a diverse range of global environmental issues. The book's top-notch authors provide critical insights and reflections that advance the field in important ways. -- Jennifer Clapp, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability, University of Waterloo As governments retreat from strict regulations to protect the environment, NGOs, activists, corporations, and governments themselves are turning to 'governance by disclosure' with claims it will lead to accountability and effective action. This book asks the toughest questions yet about the motivations, purposes, and effects of transparency to critically assess this purported link. More fundamentally, deeply insightful case studies show how different answers to these questions shape our very understanding of global problems and what knowledge is privileged in addressing them. -- Steven Bernstein, Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Environmental Governance Lab, University of Toronto

Author Bio

Aarti Gupta is Associate Professor in the Environmental Policy Group of the Department of Social Sciences at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Michael Mason is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Aarti Gupta is Associate Professor in the Environmental Policy Group of the Department of Social Sciences at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Michael Mason is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Sebastian Oberthur is Academic Director of the Institute for European Studies at Free University Brussels and the coeditor (with Thomas Gehring) of Institutional Interaction in Global Environmental Governance: Synergy and Conflict among International and EU Policies (MIT Press, 2006) Frank Biermann is Research Professor of Global Sustainability Governance with the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University and the author of Earth System Governance: World Politics in the Anthropocene (MIT Press). Oran R. Young is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of Institutional Dynamics: Emergent Patterns in International Environmental Governance (MIT Press) and other books.