Abstract

It is argued here that countries have an obligation to enter agreements that would significantly constrain the play of free-market forces in order to tackle the problems of the global environment. On the way, a realist understanding of the global environment is first defended (Section I), as is a strong (as opposed to weak or ultra-strong) understanding of sustainability (Section II). Criticisms are then presented to the project of incorporating the natural environment into the market (Section III). International agreements are shown to be needed to regulate both international and domestic markets if the planetary environment is to be sustained (Section IV).