Global governance for environmental justice

Abstract

In so far as the debate on global governance concerns the economy and the environment, the question of environmental justice deserves special attention. Three ways of looking at the future regulation of production for ecological ends are outlined: ‘market environmental‐ism’, ‘ecological modernisation’ and ‘eco‐socialism’. The first calls for radical extension of the market to the environmental commons, the second for political redirection of the economy to achieve ‘green production’; the third—more pessimistically—doubts the capacity of any form of capitalism to survive the coming environmental crisis. In all cases the way forward demands radical institutional change at global level. Some comparisons are drawn between today's world and the emergence of nation states from the matrix of powers in medieval Europe. This system eventually coalesced, spreading to new post‐colonial nations and becoming what is today known as the Westphalian order, partially modified by the creation of the United Nations and other features of the international order. Studying the notion of a ‘global constitution’ suggest that, notwithstanding certain objections, there is little realistic alternative to such a consitution if environmental justice is to be achieved. A number of ‘first steps’ are suggested to improve the global institutional order. Environmental justice requires at minimum a World Environmental Court legitimated and sanctioned by a representative World Environmental Council.