The University of Tokyo’s Center for Global Commons (CGC) has published a discussion paper, ”Tackling International Spillovers: An Overview of Policy Options.” Today’s economies and markets fail to adequately price the full societal costs of business models on our natural world. This undermines our global commons—the stable and resilient Earth systems on which human prosperity and security depend. National policies tend to focus on domestic priorities, ignoring the significant negative environmental impacts on other countries that contribute to the degradation of the global commons.
This discussion paper introduces a framework for understanding how four types of national policy levers can tackle international spillovers: (1) target setting and monitoring; (2) public management; (3) regulation; and (4) fiscal policy and financing. It considers both demand and supply-side policy instruments and their impacts on the global commons, and highlights practical lessons on how national policymakers can begin to act now.
Full report is available here.