ABSTRACT

This chapter argues that the United States (US) can more effectively achieve its foreign policy goals in the environmental issue area, and thereby protect and promote US national interests, by treating other countries, particularly the developing countries, more equitably. The US government—particularly the Bill Clinton administration—gradually came to accept equity as an important objective of its global environmental policy. The chapter examines some of the practical and normative implications of adopting and embracing equity as an objective of global environmental policy—and particularly policy on global climate change—for the United States and for the world. The Clinton administration gave strong rhetorical support to a reinterpretation of the national interest that includes environmental change and sustainable development. At least by the time of Clinton administration, US officials recognized that successfully combating problems caused by environmental changes required a redefinition and re-prioritization of national interests. Under President Clinton, the US government took steps toward a redefinition of which issues constitute core security threats.