25 July 2011
EEA Reports on Non-State Actors in Global Governance
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The European Environment Agency describes the increased involvement of non-State actors, such as multinational corporations, NGOs and scientific organizations, in global governance and policy setting.

The report was issued as a contribution to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).

22 July 2011: The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released a report titled “Global Governance: The rise of non-state actors,” to complement the Assessment of Global Megatrends launched in November 2010 as part of the State and Outlook of the European Environment Report (SOER 2011) and as a contribution to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).

The report on global governance describes how non-State actors such as multinational corporations, NGOs and scientific organizations are increasingly involved in global governance by taking part in formulating, negotiating and implementing policy at local, regional and global levels. Evidence of this change can be seen in the number of NGOs holding advisory status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which has increased from approximately 700 in 1992 to almost 3,200 now. Key drivers of this change, according to the report, include economic globalization, technological change, and the growing imbalance in information held by State and non-State actors.

Jacqueline McGlade, EEA Executive Director, remarked that the UNCSD could consider the model of multi-level, multi-stakeholder governance pioneered within the EU as an example for international sustainable development governance. [EEA Press Release] [Publication: Global Governance: The Rise of Non-state Actors] [Climate Change Policy & Practice Story on SOER 2010]

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