1980 대 EU 의 아황산가스 ( SO2 ) 배출 감소원인과 EU 의 국제환경정책이 동북아에게 주는 시사점 = Why were SO2 Emissions Reduced with the European Union in 1980 ~ 1989 ?

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In the most member countries of the EU sulpherdioxide(SO_2) emissions were reduced between 1980 and 1989. Some questions are raised about the rationale to reduce SO_2 emissions, considering the nature of SO_2 emissions. There could be several reasons for the cooperative behavior of European countries to be mentioned in this article: 1. The EU has the most powerful institutions of existing international organizations. So it could have internalized the externalities between the member countries. But in reality, the EU could not decide on appropriate policy measures concerned with environmental regulation, for it failed to gain unanimity of all member countries. Most of the political actions, which led to reduction of SO_2, were taken at national level, not at EU level. 2. The `theory of small group` by Mancer Olson (1965) can provide a theoretical explanation. Then, SO_2 reduction in Europe can be interpreted as production of a public good by 20~30 countries. The efforts made by EU members have achieved greater reduction of SO_2 emission (small group), compared to the reduction of SO_2 emissions, which concern all countries of the world (large group). 3. A regional environmental problem brings public and private benefits simultaneously. Therefore it should be better interpreted as a mixed public good. When an EU member country abated SO_2 emission, an average of 30% of total benefits was for its own good. Since the self-benefit deriving from a mixed public good was significant, the countries had more incentives to protect the environment. 4. The environmental cooperation between the EU countries has not been a oneshort game but a repeated one. The countries have interacted very intensively through different institutions so that a cooperative social norm built up in the EU. In Northeast Asia there are similar regional environmental problems like in Europe. About 10~30% of sulpher deposition in South Korea and Japan has originated from China. Considering the trend of population and economic growth of China, Northeast Asia will come under serious environmental threats in the near future. To prevent those problems, the three countries, namely, Korea, Japan and China, should take lessons from the European experiences.