The future of environmental networks—Governance and civil society in a global context

Knowledge networks are a recent innovation in global environmental governance. They provide a means for local and regional initiatives aimed at averting, mitigating, or adapting to climate change and other trans-boundary problems to join together in a system that: permits sharing of experiences, diffuses policy innovation across national borders, and spans divergent disciplinary boundaries so as to better communicate science to local decision-makers. We consider the role currently played by networks and the possibility that, over time, their soft power characteristics – a reliance on value change and policy emulation – may eventually place them in a position to globally coordinate local and regional environmental policy innovations. If successful, their efforts might supplant the need for national action to address climate change, even if they do not replace the nation-state system whose environmental management efforts will continue to rely on hard power: the use, primarily, of economic incentives to induce policy change.“ICLEI provides technical consulting, training, and information services to build capacity, share knowledge, and support local government in the implementation of sustainable development at the local level. Our basic premise is that locally designed initiatives can provide an effective and cost-efficient way to achieve local, national, and global sustainability objectives.” – International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives – website, 2010“When California passed its global warming law two years ago, we were out there on an island, so we started forming partnerships everywhere we could. We teamed up with Great Britain, the Canadian provinces, and the Western and Northeastern states and with states like those of my co hosts – Illinois, Florida, Kansas, Wisconsin and more. And right here, for the first time, we have officials from China, India, Mexico, Brazil, and Indonesia and across the world in the same summit, working toward the same goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and growing green economies in our own backyards.” – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Global Climate Summit. Los Angeles, California. November 18, 2008.

► We show how knowledge networks help countries better disseminate local experiences in adopting to climate change and other environmental problems. ► We show how the emergence of these networks has paralleled the decline of developed country influence in international for a responsible for resource and environmental problems and the increase in developing country influence on these matters since World War II. ► While established means of international power and influence on environmental matters – based on trade, aid, and economic influence will continue and remain pre-eminent – we show how soft power networks, based on shared values and experiences, will grow in legitimacy.