Social Movements and the Globalisation of Environmental Governance

Summary Environmental governance has become globalised as part of a wider agenda of global governance building within key institutions such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The perceived need for global solutions to global environmental problems and calls for sustainable development have put environmental issues onto the agenda of the institutions of global governance, which, some argue, are becoming democratised through consultation with global civil society. This sphere of global civil society, however, is not unproblematic, hosting a diversity of actors such as social movements, business and industry who are clearly not on an equal footing. This article focuses on social movements attempts to influence the international trade agenda, but also takes a look at radical grassroots resistance movements that do not fit easily within this sphere. Their calls for structural transformation of the WTO highlight the lack of democracy and accountability within the WTO that will not be remedied merely through consultation with global civil society.