Governing across regions: global environment and regionalism in Europe and Southeast Asia

Abstract

As regionalism proliferates, so does regional environmental cooperation, which constitutes an important layer within the multi-levelled structure of global environmental governance. Affected by a range of institutions and politics at the national, regional and international levels, its characteristics, effectiveness, and contributions to global environmental governance vary from region to region. To examine the relations between regionalism and global environment governance, this chapter first provides an overview of the most influential theories in the field of environmental policy and international environmental cooperation. It then describes the global architecture of environmental governance, highlighting major issues confronting environmental cooperation at both the global and regional levels. To illuminate the prospects and challenges of global and regional environmental governance, the achievements and arrangements of the two most advanced regional organizations, namely the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), are reviewed as examples. Major issues discussed are summarized in the conclusion.