ABSTRACT
The institutions addressing atmospheric commons are all reasonably recent but quite well developed. The logic for international approaches to addressing these issues is strong. The atmosphere is not controlled by any one state, and actions taken by states in one location affect the atmosphere in other locations. States thus cannot protect their own populations from environmental problems of the atmosphere simply by controlling their own domestic behavior. And these problems can be dramatic. Acid rain has caused forest damage and the death of lake ecosystems, as well as damaging human health, across Europe and is spreading worldwide with increasing industrialization. A depleted ozone layer leads to increases in skin cancer, cataracts, and immunesystem disorders among humans and other species, and damages plant life. The WHO estimates that 150,000 human lives are already lost annually from existing effects of climate change.1 Rising sea levels will inundate populated areas inhabited by millions of people, and changing patterns of temperature and rainfall will affect food production, disease vectors, and impact the health or even survival of species and ecosystems.
