Definition
International Cooperation
When countries work together to solve global problems and achieve shared goals through agreements and joint actions.
When it comes to negative externalities, while the source of it can be from a single entity, the consequences of it have a global effect. Therefore it becomes important to hold each other accountable for the negative externalities produced, and take measures to deal with them.
Global Nature of Sustainability Issues
- Many of the negative externalities have transboundary effect:
- Climate change
- Pollution
- Biodiversity losses
- Therefore individual states that are active in trying to reduce the impacts of these externalities cannot do it successfully without the help of other states
- Many resources on the planet are not owned by a single country but rather are shared between all the states.
- atmosphere
- oceans
- Therefore the responsibility for the managing of these global resources need to be established through international agreements.
All of these resources are common pool resources.
- Another reason why international agreements are needed, is to ensure that no country takes advantage over another. This is because:
- Larger countries normally have a higher level of production than smaller countries, hence producing greater negative externalities which the smaller countries suffer from.
- Therefore an establishment of collective responsibility is needed to resolve the global sustainability issues.
Examples of International Cooperation signed by multiple countries regarding environmental issues include:
- Paris Agreement
- Montreal Protocol
- Kyoto Protocol
- Basel Convention
Challenges Faced in International Cooperation
As effective and well purposed international agreements may sound, there are various challenges associated with their implementation.
