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FROM VOLUME 9, NUMBER 6, JUNE 1996

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
POLICY

Item #d96jun5

"International Environmental Treaty Secretariats: A Case of Neglected Potential?" R. Sandford (Dept. Urban Studies, Mass. Inst. Technol., Cambridge MA 02139), Environ. Impact Assess. Rev., 16(1), 3-12, Jan. 1996.

Secretariats play a crucial role in the implementation phase of international environmental treaties by transforming their goals into practical achievements. Yet they are often neglected, regularly criticized, and seldom rewarded for helping governments meet treaty obligations. Because it can take generations to ensure that a treaty is implemented effectively, neglecting the impacts of civil servants as influential actors in the international policy process is a major oversight. Examines the factors which enable secretariats to have such influence.

Item #d96jun6

Two items in Ecological Econ., 16(1), Jan. 1996:

"The Secondary Benefits of CO₂ Abatement: How Much Emission Reduction Do They Justify?" P. Elkins (Dept. Econ., Univ. London, 7-15 Gresse St., London W1P 1PA, UK), 13-24. Reviews estimates of the benefits of reducing fossil fuel emissions other than CO₂, as a by-product of CO₂ abatement. The estimates are few and uncertain, but uniformly suggest that the benefits are of the same order of magnitude as the gross costs of abatement of medium to high levels of CO₂. Concludes that the existence of these significant benefits greatly strengthens the economic case for an aggressive policy of CO₂ abatement.

"Charging the Earth: The Promotion of Price-Based Measures for Pollution Control," S. Beder (Dept. Sci. & Technol., Univ. Wollongong, Northfields Ave., Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia), 51-63. Only recently have economic instruments for pollution control been embraced by business groups and governments looking for a way to avoid stricter and more costly regulation that might inhibit economic growth. This paper examines the rationale for price-based instruments, explains how economists have managed to enroll the support of interest groups, even those with conflicting interests, and discusses the outlook for success.