ABSTRACT
Conflicts between the Global North – the world’s economically developed industrialized countries – and the South – the world’s economically underdeveloped and developing countries – have been one of the mainstays of global environmental politics. These conflicts result from pervasive differences between North and South over interests, power and socioeconomic conditions. Even as some scholars question the validity of a North–South dichotomy in examining global environmental changes and responses to them, international negotiations to mitigate climate change (Chapter 28) and to address other environmental problems are impeded by apparently irreconcilable differences between North and South. This chapter addresses the origins of North–South conflicts in global politics, their evolution in the context of global environmental change, and theoretical debates over the validity of this frame of reference for understanding global environmental politics.
