This Issue Brief has described the effect of globalization on the environment both as a result of the increasing integration of the world's economies through international trade and in the context of multilateral, international efforts to combat the most pressing global environmental problems. As we have discussed, countries disagree over the nature and scope of the threats the environment faces and the way to deal with those threats, with scientific, cultural, and economic considerations all playing roles in these disagreements. The common themes running through these disagreements, though, are the trade-offs between economic development and environmental protection and between international cooperation and individual action.