How did the Montreal Protocol succeed in helping to protect the earth's ozone layer? Why did the Kyoto Protocol fail to materially dampen global climate change? Are treaties really needed? Can they be made to work better? This book develops a theory to answer these questions - one that integrates the approaches used in economics, political science, international law, and game theory.
Scott Barretts book is the best account of "how to engineer treaties that work"- a must for any student of environmental economics. The book provides interesting historical case studies to make its points. Most of the book is devoted to the game theory that underlies international action. The historical case studies provide some sense of how theory can be applied in practice- which is refreshing and gave me a lot of optimism. Often, the theory is presented in a non-standard way. However, I did not find the representation off-putting.