A Green Road to Development: Environmental Regulations and Developing Countries in the WTO

摘要

The intersection of environmentalism and economicdevelopment is of growing interest and renewed prominence—as arethe tensions associated with balancing these interests. With thecollapse of the Doha negotiations in the summer of 2008, a fracturedchasm continues to grow between the developed and the developingworlds.1 However, the conflicts do not evidence a failure of theinternational trade regime; instead they signify the growing influenceand sophistication of developing states. The rise in influence of thesestates, however, is viewed by some as a threat to environmentalconservation. Skeptical states even proposed alternativeinternational organizations to address the perceived divergingambitions.2 Nonetheless, environmentalists should not advocatewithdrawing from the trade-environment debate, but instead shouldencourage sustainable development as an alternative to ostracizingany group of Nations. This paper contends that the World TradeOrganization is the proper forum for greening the road todevelopment and bridging the interests of the developed anddeveloping worlds.