International business in global environmental governance between Stockholm and Kyoto

The gap between the implications of climate science and the achievements of global climate policies, is still wide. One of the most critical questions of our time is why humanity has still not been able to close this gap.

In a collaboration involving business and economic historians in Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands, this project takes a novel approach in tracing the historical foundations of today’s global environmental governance regime, by focusing on the role of transnational business networks in shaping it.

Our focus is on the International Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business association.

It is widely held that the period between United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972 and the Rio Summit in 1992 marked a shift in the balance of power away from government-centered approaches towards a neoliberal environmental governance regime, focused on market driven solutions.

Yet, historical research has not previously studied the role of international business associations in fostering this shift, nor outlined the implications for today’s efforts to address grand environmental challenges.

Using a transnational approach, this project offers to will increase our understanding of the role of international business interest in strategically shaping global environmental governance.