ABSTRACT
The global governance describes world politics that is no longer confined to nation states, but is characterized by increased participation of actors that have so far been largely active at the subnational level. This chapter explores the concept of global governance of the environment. It sketches different current uses of the term "global governance" in the literature and highlights key characteristics of global governance that make it different from traditional international relations. Characteristics of global environmental governance include increased segmentation, increased participation, and increased privatization. The chapter offers the reader examples from policy debates on the reform of the existing system of global environmental governance. The new mechanisms of global governance, such as private-public partnerships, point to a new research program that helps the reader to understand better the emergence, maintenance, effectiveness and the legitimacy of the new regulatory mechanisms.
