ABSTRACT
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg in 2002, drew attention yet again to the challenges and perceived inadequacies of global environmental governance. The image of a crisis of governance is central to the global politics of the environment. The number of multilateral environmental agreements continues to grow (over 500 according to one estimate) (Wapner 2003, 6), but those agreements have often been less effective than is demanded by the environmental challenges they are intended to meet. They are often characterized by inadequate targets and commitments, permissive compliance and verification mechanisms and little in the way of effective sanctions.
