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Elder reviews BANKING ON MULTINATIONALS: Public Credit and the Export of Japanese Sunset Industries by Mireya Solis.

AbstractThis article argues that the environment was extensively incorporated into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with broad and ambitious targets, reflecting environmental concerns throughout the SDGs. Many environment‐related targets – including some of the most important ones – were placed under 'non‐environmental' goals. The SDGs also adopted the view that economic growth can be made environmentally sustainable using 'decoupling' and 'resource efficiency' as key technological solutions. Governments rejected a more transformative objective 'beyond GDP', the concept of planetary boundaries, and strong implementation mechanisms. Most disappointing, the environmental elements in many targets were not included in indicators, or the indicators lacked ambition, or were watered down. Key factors in achieving the strong and integrated approach to environment and development at the level of goals and targets were: (1) the role of new ideas on the importance of the environment and an integrated approach to sustainable development which was promoted by the science and research community; (2) a group of norm entrepreneurs, who promoted these ideas; and (3) the institutional structure and working modalities of the Open Working Group (which drafted the text of the SDGs) whose special characteristics facilitated the final agreement. The dilution of the indicators resulted from a very different institutional structure and process with different actors and from the development focused legacy of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that had not resulted in sufficient capacity for thoroughly measuring environmental concerns.

This study shows that some Japanese local governments, at both the prefecture and city levels, have engaged in international cooperation with local governments in developing countries in Asia to improve environmental management and explains their motivations to do so even if international cooperation is not usually considered part of local governments' mandate, and despite fiscal constraints. Forms of cooperation include training officials from developing countries in Japan, dispatch of Japanese local government expert officials to developing countries, partnering with and providing assistance to international organizations, establishing organizations for international environmental cooperation, and hosting international intercity network programs. This cooperation can be explained by a combination of environment-related factors and degree of local area's international orientation. Environment-related factors include desire to make a contribution based on local experience and human capital, promotion of international environmental business, response to trans-boundary pollution issues, and conservation of natural assets. Collaboration with the national government is an important facilitating though not determining factor since local governments respond differently to national policies. Other facilitating factors include local governments' fiscal capacity. The cases in this study can promote consideration of the potential motivations and ways that local governments in industrialized countries can contribute to international environmental development.

This article argues that waste management and recycling have become regional or international issues; they can no longer be considered only in a national context. The regionalization or internationalization of waste and recycling issues is caused in large part by the steady advance of economic integration, especially increasing trade and investment flows resulting from trade and investment liberalization. Just as economic integration has separated the location of consumption from the location of most efficient production, it has also separated the most efficient and effective location of recycling from the location of production and consumption. This makes it difficult to operate domestically oriented recycling schemes, as demonstrated by the case of Japan. Therefore, national policies, although still important, are now insufficient, and this article will propose policy recommendations to address this, including the development of national recycling systems and capacity linked to regional recycling zones, regionally coordinated extended producers responsibility, and regional certification schemes for recyclers and traders.

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