Blueprint 4 continues the theme of Blueprint 2 in looking at the opportunities for using market forces for environmental ends. It assesses a range of possible imaginative 'global bargains', which give all parties a self-interested incentive to improve the global environment.

The book begins by reviewing the principle global issues to be addressed, and then explains the mechanisms of resource degradation: how economic systems fail, the operation of trade on the environment and the effects of population growth and consumption patterns. It then shows how environmental value can be captured, and the basis, means and institutions for doing so.