Smuggling networks and the black market in ozone depleting substances

Abstract

The black market in ozone-depleting substances (ODS) is a direct consequence of international agreement on targets to reduce and phase-out the production and consumption of such chemicals. Yet the Montreal Protocol says nothing about illegal trade (as opposed to unauthorised trade) and it is widely accepted that the Parties had not anticipated such an outcome and were slow to respond. In effect, then, the Protocol itself created the opportunity structure for illegal activity in situations where perverse incentives generate high profits and low entry costs. This chapter draws on criminology, economic sociology and public policy to examine the logistic trails and smuggling networks that sustain the ODS black market. It examines how ODS smuggling has gone global, how that black market blurs the boundaries between legitimate industry and white collar crime, and how those involved have been able to adjust their strategies for illegal transboundary activity in response to changing structures of demand and supply.