ABSTRACT
States are no longer the sole actors responsible for governing global environmental problems. Increasingly, private regimes, which are transnational rules created by non-state actors, are managing environmental issues. The trend toward private regimes can be traced, in part, back to the 1992 Conference on Environment and Human Development, where states called on non-state actors to promote environmental protection through partnerships and other activities. The most prominent type of private regime takes the form of environmental labeling and certification. Private regimes constituted by and for business often confer some benefit to members. Since private regimes are voluntary, and not required by law, they have been critiqued as being weak and ineffective. Private regimes are also vulnerable to legitimacy critiques. Since they are not endowed with authority by the state, there is a question of whether non-state actors are viewed as rightful rule-makers.
