The Emerging Debate on the Need for a World Environment Organization: A

As demonstrated by this inaugural issue of Global Environmental Politics, the de-bate on institutional reform of international environmental policy-making has gained momentum. At the center of deliberations is the idea of replacing the weak United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) with a stronger “world en-vironment organization, ” although no consensus on the need for such a new agency or the best model for its design has yet been reached. The concept of upgrading or replacing UNEP with a stronger body, as dis-cussed in this issue, is in itself not new. However, the substantial support the idea has mustered in recent years has added a new dimension to earlier debates. For example, the creation of a new agency has now been endorsed by the former heads of the World Trade Organization (W TO), Renato Ruggiero, and of the UN Development Program (UNDP), Gustave Speth, as well as by the new WTO director-designate, Supachai Panitchpakdi. Several academics and expert com-missions, too, have advocated a world environment organization.1 Notably, a number of governments have come forward with proposals for establishing