The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (2000) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (2002) have made the provision of basic services a collective international commitment.

In response to State withdrawal, private actors have been associated, by different methods, in public-private partnerships. Sharing responsibilities between the State or local authorities and private operators, and sharing the long-term costs of service provision, are at the heart of debates in the North and South alike.

Moreover, industries such as chemicals generate pollution and risks that transcend borders. As the guarantors of health and the environment, States must also supervise these activities at the international level. Hence the importance of establishing efficient global regulation channels, including the means to pool data on risks, in a competitive and globalized sector. REACH, the draft European regulation, is a step forward in the regulation of chemical activities. What influence will it have on other parts of the world?