ABSTRACT
A “world environment organization” does not exist. Yet proposals to create an international agency on environmental protection have been debated now for over forty years (overviews in Biermann and Bauer 2005). These proposals use a variety of names for such a new world environment organization, such as “Global Environment Organization,” “United Nations Environment Organization,” or “United Nations Environmental Protection Organization.” What all proposals have in common is the argument for setting up a new specialized intergovernmental organization within the system of the United Nations that would focus on environmental policies.
