Environmental Cooperation at APEC: The First Five Years

Abstract

This article develops a theoretical framework of environmental regionalism to assess the environmental track record of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. The first section outlines why and how APEC nations need to cooperate on environmental issues. The authors argue that APEC, defined primarily by a high level of regional economic integration, must address three tasks: (a) building common norms, (b) increasing environmental capacities, and (c) coordinating domestic resource and environmental policy, especially in sectors that are heavily involved in regional trade and investment. The second section examines the politics and consensus-building style of environmental diplomacy at APEC. The third section describes APEC's achievements between 1993—when environmental issues moved into the mainstream—and June 1997—when environment ministers approved the implementation of a regional action program. The final section concludes that, although it has built up some momentum, environmental diplomacy at APEC has not yet reached critical mass.