Regulating chemical risk: REACH in a global governance perspective

Abstract

This chapter analyses the EU REACH Regulation as a blueprint for an international model of risk governance. It reviews the institutional set-up of REACH, documenting a shift of decision-making authority away from the State level towards the private and European level, and explains why the Member States of the EU agreed to limit their decision-making power. It then considers the potential for REACH to be exported beyond EU boundaries, contemplates two globalisation models, and discusses one of the challenges of the proliferation of REACH as a global standard. The chapter argues that, while the adoption of REACH abroad may bring improvements in trade relations and health and environmental protection, these benefits risk to be substantially reduced and even reversed if REACH is incorporated in an institutional setting that is not equipped to deal with its managerial and administrative demands. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.