The analysis challenges whether and to what extent international law and institutions can overcome two fundamental obstacles to global environmental protection: reluctance on the part of States to cede sovereignty and conflicting State interests. Additionally, the discussion considers the ongoing reliance of legal experts on international custom as a source of rules for assigning State liability in instances of transboundary pollution. Further, this note examines international treaties as a means of preventing environmental harms, identifies the problems States confront in enforcing international environmental agreements, and reviews the role of international institutions in the creation and enforcement of international environmental law. The concluding section argues that the doctrines U.S. courts use to balance U.S. and foreign interests fail to resolve the tension between the environment and development and proposes an alternative method to mediate such conflicts. 160 footnotes