A significant shift in environmental governance since 1970 has been the convergence of environmental and libral economic norms toward "liberal environmentalism". This text assesses the reasons for this shift, and considers the implications for our ability to address global environmental problems.

The most significant shift in environmental governance over the last thirty years has been the convergence of environmental and liberal economic norms toward "liberal environmentalism" - a method of promoting a liberal economic order while causing minimal disruptions to ecological systems. Steven F. Bernstein assesses the reasons for this historical shift, introduces a socio-evolutionary explanation, and considers the implications for our ability to address global environmental problems. The author maintains that the institutionalization of "sustainable development" at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) legitimized the evolution toward liberal environmentalism. Arguing that most of the literature on environmental politics is too rationalist and problem-specific, Bernstein challenges the often-presumed primary of science in environmental governance.