The Environment (NP)

Episode number 12 of Series “The Global Economy”.
This episode of the Open Learning Economics course looks at the way the international economic community is tackling the issue of environmental protection. Since the late 1970s there has been a growing concern, especially by communities in wealthier nations, over the high environmental cost of unrestricted economic development. Developing countries, however, have argued that trade restrictions predicated on environmental law offer unfair economic advantages to richer nations. In the first half of the program we look at the example of the Mexican tuna industry which has come under fire because of the destruction of dolphin life. However when the United States attempted to place an embargo on Mexican tuna, the General Agreement on Tarrifs and Trade (GATT) ruled that this was contrary to the principles of Free Trade. In the second half we look at the destruction of Europe’s Rhine River by industrial pollution. The panel of economists examining both issues discuss some of the implications for trade if environmental law becomes institutionalised in the global economy.