A significant amount of consensus among large numbers of states in the world presently exists with regard to environmental issues and how these problems must and can be addressed. This consensus includes agreements on the fact that if the international community is not prepared to work together in alleviating these problems the continued existence ofthe world, as we know it, is indeed at risk. What is not well known, however, is how this point of consensus was reached in historical terms. What really happened during the last forty years to achieve international co-operation on environmental issues? This article is an attempt to clarify the complicated history of how international relations were influenced by environmental issues. It also highlights multi-lateral diplomacy as a necessary instrument for advancing the goal of an environmentally safer world
