Introduction - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 13

government leaders had to determine their negotiating position, which in
its first iteration was quite proindustry. Yet as hosts, they recognized their
obligation not to oppose the draft protocol with reductions in greenhouse
gas emissions. In the week preceding the opening, the Japanese delegates
met with the Americans and some Europeans in Tokyo to hammer out
their differences. Because of their obligations to their guests who were
already arriving, the Japanese were forced to take a bargaining position
less favorable to industry than would have been the case if the conference
were convened elsewhere. Five years later a similar situation occurred for
India. Because the meeting was scheduled for New Delhi, the government
had to prepare its diplomats and enhance its scientific expertise. The aver-
age Indian citizen had no opinion on the topic.
his topic starts with the United States under the rationale that it has
a strong environmental program and that more readers are familiar
with it than any other country. Next come the leaders in Europe, start-
ing with Germany, with briefer discussions of the Netherlands, Denmark,
and Sweden. Chapter 4 covers Britain, France, and the European Union.
Canada and Australia share many features with Britain as well as with the
United States. All are industrial democracies. India and Brazil are both big
developing countries, with vibrant democracies. They were described as
the Third World by classification with the industrial First World compris-
ing Western Europe and North America; the Second World, Communist
Russia, Eastern Europe, and China; and the rest as the Third World. Kenya
and Costa Rica are also developing countries but are small compared to
India and Brazil. Many consider them to be environmental paradises, in
which the governments have protected the land, plants, and animals in
parks. In Russia, the Communist Party took power in 1917, and its ideology
was that of materialism, which emphasized heavy industry and deempha-
sized environmental protection. Unlike Western Europe, it was not demo-
cratic. Finally, China is a developing country where the Communist Party
won control in 1949 and imposed a regime even harsher than that of the
Soviet Union. Environmental damage was great. However, in recent years,
its government has introduced some environmental protections.
Analysis addresses the five themes of participation, interest groups, par-
ties, structure, and diplomatic agenda but in a flexible fashion so not every
theme is addressed for every country. Major historic commonalities like
the Environmental Decade of the 1970s are covered for all countries, but
less important threads are woven less systematically. For example, a pre-
cursor to environmentalism by 220 years was the fad for the Chinese