Editorial introduction

Summary

The long view on interlocking crises

A theme running throughout the book is the need to restore balance between the benefits and risks of globalization. Many of the articles in the previous chapters make reference to the issues presented in this section, which aims to take the long view. Serious doubts exist about the environmental sustainability of our global growth models while many poor countries are hit by critical food security concerns. This chapter considers some of the contributions international trade can bring to tackling a set of intractable interlocking crises: climate, water, food and energy. All will have an incidence on welfare and future prospects for peace and prosperity.

The chapter opens with the observation that we have so far failed to establish international arrangements that ensure an enabling distribution of the benefits of global relations. The following two articles offer differing opinions on global trade rules and negotiations in the context of climate change and a planet constrained by resources. Four contributions on energy, agriculture and water then complement this debate. The first offers a scenario for a new clean energy deal in which trade and energy could be mutually reinforcing drivers of the global business environment, the second looks at the major distortions in the international trade of agricultural products, while the third and fourth concentrate their analyses on securing an efficient allocation of the water needed to grow food for an increasing world population.