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

Abstract

"The intersection of environmentalism and economic development is of growing interest and renewed prominence—as are the tensions associated with balancing these interests. With the collapse of the Doha negotiations in the summer of 2008, a fractured chasm continues to grow between the developed and the developing worlds. However, the conflicts do not evidence a failure of the international trade regime; instead they signify the growing influence and sophistication of developing states. The rise in influence of these states, however, is viewed by some as a threat to environmental conservation. Skeptical states even proposed alternative international organizations to address the perceived diverging ambitions. Nonetheless, environmentalists should not advocate withdrawing from the trade-environment debate, but instead should encourage sustainable development as an alternative to ostracizing any group of Nations. This paper contends that the World Trade Organization is the proper forum for greening the road to development and bridging the interests of the developed and developing worlds."