In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical - and accessible - plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe.

Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide toward certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal.

He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. Drawing on his understanding of innovation and what it takes to get new ideas into the market, he describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions, where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively, where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete, practical plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions-suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers, and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise.

As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but if we follow the plan he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.

Do you love living in the city but dream about growing your own wholesome fruit and vegetables? South Africa’s organic gardening guru, Jane Griffiths, shows you just how easy it is to achieve a flourishing food garden, no matter how small your space.

Jane’s Delicious Urban Gardening is packed with inspirational ideas and practical information on all aspects of urban eco living.

In her trademark sensible and easy-to-follow style, Jane provides a wealth of tips and suggestions for:

• growing organic vegetables just about anywhere – from containers to edible walls, from raised beds to rooftops, from community gardens to neglected pavements
• planting and maintaining a space-efficient urban orchard
• converting an existing lawn or tennis court into an instant edible oasis
• keeping urban bees, hens and aquaponic tanks
• harvesting rainwater and recycling grey water
• introducing solar power into your home
• converting a chlorinated swimming pool into a wetland-filtered haven.

Illustrated with hundreds of beautiful colour photographs, Jane’s Delicious Urban Gardening is essential reading for anyone wanting to live a more sustainable, productive and healthy lifestyle in the city.

It is predicted that we will lose all of our commercial fish species by 2048. Within the next 60 years all of our planets topsoil is expected to perish. How did we come to this? What are the forces at play that have led us on such a destructive and unsustainable path? Why has the environmental movement taken so long to gain necessary traction?

The answers to these important questions have surprisingly been difficult to find. Very few resources provide the necessary exploration of the broad range of environmental challenges that face our world, nor the solutions to these overwhelming obstacles. Our unstainable methods of consumption have reached an all-time high, and our planet is suffering a great deal as a result. The driving forces behind these high levels of consumption – population growth and increased demand- are leading us into an uncertain future. It is now clear that drastic transformation is needed. It was the unintended consequences of innovation that led us into this situation. But as it stands, innovation will be the primary key to leading us out of it.

Green Is Not A Colour sets the bar straight. By cutting to the very root of the problems we face, we are able to see how the environmental crisis is inextricably linked to every aspect of our lives. By identifying the opportunities- both readily available and in development-that provide the solutions to these problems, the book reveals how human ingenuity will prove to be a powerful tool in steering us onto a sustainable path.

Did you know you could eat healthily and sustainably without being vegan? This book shows you how with simple, tempting recipes that support the environment and don't make you feel like you're missing out.

Whether it's Spinach, Nut and Goat's Cheese Pie, Aubergine Stuffed with Lamb and Buckwheat, or Speedy Cauliflower, Lentil and Watercress Risotto, these comforting, filling and delicious dishes will quickly become the day-to-day favorites in your kitchen.

More and more of us are realizing that our personal health and the health of our planet are intimately linked. Eating a better diet can also help to make us more eco-friendly. But it's often hard to know where to start, especially if you still want to keep some seafood, meat and poultry in your diet.

Enter award-winning recipe writer registered nutritionist Annie Bell. The easy, family-friendly recipes in Healthy Planet, Healthy You follow recommendations from the sustainable Planetary Health Diet, written by an international group of scientists. This flexitarian reference diet is so simple, accessible and tempting that you will hardly believe you're helping to fight climate change and save the planet as you eat.

Capitalism’s addiction to fossil fuels is heating our planet at a pace and scale never before experienced.

Extreme weather patterns, rising sea levels and accelerating feedback loops are a commonplace feature of our lives. The number of environmental refugees is increasing and several island states and low-lying countries are becoming vulnerable. Corporate-induced climate change has set us on an ecocidal path of species extinction. Governments and their international platforms such as the Paris Climate Agreement deliver too little, too late. Most states, including South Africa, continue on their carbon-intensive energy paths, with devastating results. Political leaders across the world are failing to provide systemic solutions to the climate crisis. This is the context in which we must ask ourselves: how can people and class agency change this destructive course of history?

The Climate Crisis investigates ecosocialist alternatives that are emerging. It presents the thinking of leading climate justice activists, campaigners and social movements advancing systemic alternatives and developing bottom-up, just transitions to sustain life. Through a combination of theoretical and empirical work, the authors collectively examine the challenges and opportunities inherent in the current moment.

Most importantly, it explores ways to renew historical socialism with democratic, ecosocialist alternatives to meet current challenges in South Africa and the world.

Guests directly account for over 50% of resource use in hotels and as much as 90% in self-catering accommodation. They are quite simply the most significant factor contributing to hospitality's ongoing carbon emissions. Given the targets to reduce carbon emissions by 66% by the year 2030, it is imperative that practical solutions for the accommodation sector are created and applied fast. 'How to Create Sustainable Hospitality: a handbook for guest participation' is the first text to demonstrate how to actively persuade guests to participate in achieving sustainable hospitality. Practitioners and commentators have tended to criticise guests, believing they won't "sacrifice" while on holiday. However, social trends show there is increasing consumer expectations for more sustainable services, e.g. reduction of food waste, elimination of single serve plastic, as well as firm evidence that consumption is not linked to guest happiness. The opportunity is therefore to design experiences which deliver better hospitality by inviting guests to apply saving behaviours that do not mean they will have a less enjoyable experience. Based on 16 years personally delivering sustainable hospitality experiences face to face with guests and conducting the first hard research on guest engagement at a variety of sites in Australia and Europe (from 1000-bedroom hotels and B&Bs to self-contained holiday homes and timeshare lodges), the author presents a tried and tested five step methodology on how to directly, effectively and successfully involve guests to conserve resources. This presents a new paradigm for tourism. 'How to Create Sustainable Hospitality: a handbook for guest participation' presents a clearly written, jargon-free, practical solution and: * Is the first book to focus on guests as an active and critical component in sustainable consumption and production at their holiday or business accommodation; * Introduces a five-step methodology on how to directly and effectively involve guests in saving energy and water, reducing food waste and cutting carbon. It delivers a practical solution that has been successfully applied to achieve a fast ROI with scientifically measured savings; * Uses social practice theory to describe why people do not save resources and how we can better design hospitality experiences * Uses persuasive theory to explain how to communicate with guests and by so doing increase stay satisfaction, 'delight' and brand reputation; * Includes hundreds of case examples and scientific research to illustrate how the theories works in practice; * Explains "how" to change - not just the need for change. Part of the Responsible Tourism Series edited by Harold Goodwin, Director of Responsible Tourism, Institute of Place Management at Manchester Metropolitan University and John Swarbrooke, Associate Dean-International, Plymouth Global, Plymouth University, UK

It is critical that the wellbeing of society is systematically tracked by indicators that not only give an accurate picture of human life today but also provide a window into the future for all of us. This book presents impactful findings from international longitudinal studies that respond to the United Nations' Agenda 2030 commitment to "leave no-one behind". Contributors explore a wide range and complexity of pressing global issues, with emphasis given to excluded and vulnerable populations and gender inequality. Importantly, it sets out actionable strategies for policymakers and practitioners to help strengthen the global Sustainable Development Goals framework, accelerate their implementation and improve the construction of effective public policy.

From climate change to species extinction, and habitat loss to soil degradation, a stark awareness of the often devastating impacts of human actions is growing. People around the world are urgently seeking sustainable ways of life for themselves and their communities. But what do these calls for a sustainable future mean for our current values and ways of life, and what kind of people will we need to become? Though sustainability is a ubiquitous concept with a range of meaning and applications, this volume shows that it can be significantly understood and sought through the notion of virtue, in the tradition of virtue ethics. Approaches to ethical living that emphasize good character and virtue are resurgent, and especially well-suited to addressing our present challenges. From rethinking excessive consumption, to appropriately respecting nature, to finding resilience in the face of environmental injustice, our characters will be frequently tested. The virtues of sustainability-character traits enabling us to lead sustainable, flourishing lives-will be critical to our success. This volume, divided into three sections, brings together newly-commissioned essays by leading scholars from multiple disciplines-from philosophy and political science, to religious studies and psychology. The essays in the first section focus on key factors and structures that support the cultivation of the virtues of sustainability, while those in the second focus in particular on virtues embraced by non-Western communities and cultures, and the worldviews that underlie them. Finally, the essays in the third section each address further particular virtues of sustainability, including cooperativeness, patience, conscientiousness, creativity, and open-mindedness. Together, these essays provide readers with a rich understanding of the importance and diversity of the virtues of sustainability, and practical guidance towards their cultivation.

Since the turn of the millennium, more than one million people have been killed and 2.3 billion others have been directly affected by natural disasters around the world. In cases like the 2010 Haiti earthquake or the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, these disasters have time and time again wrecked large populations and national infrastructures. While recognizing that improved rescue, evacuation, and disease control are crucial to reducing the effects of natural disasters, in the final analysis, poverty remains the main risk factor determining the long-term impact of natural hazards. Furthermore, natural disasters have themselves a tremendous impact on the poorest of the poor, who are often ill-prepared to deal with natural hazards and for whom a hurricane, an earthquake, or a drought can mean a permanent submersion in poverty. The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters focuses on these concerns for poverty and vulnerability. Written by a collection of esteemed scholars in disaster management and sustainable development, the report provides an overview of the general trends in natural disasters and their effects by focusing on a critical analysis of different methodologies used to assess the economic impact of natural disasters. Economic Impacts presents six national case studies (Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Nicaragua, Japan and the Netherlands) and shows how household surveys and country-level macroeconomic data can analyze and quantify the economic impact of disasters. The researchers within Economic Impacts have created path-breaking work and have opened new avenues for thinking and debate to push forward the frontiers of knowledge on economics of natural disasters. "A great report and an important addition to the literature about the economics of disasters and the cost-effectiveness of prevention, mitigation and adaption, including a good number of interesting and relevant applications from developed and devloping countries."-Javier E. Baez, Independent Evaluation Group, The World Bank

Now more than ever we are facing pressing world challenges of energy (identifying alternate energy), food (ensuring the food supply), water (providing clean water), and human health (enabling individualized medicine); and to solve these challenges will require chemistry and the related chemical sciences. Integrating sustainability into everything we do from instituting responsible operations, to selecting partners for change and innovating sustainable solutions. Industry needs academe to prepare their graduates to ascend the ladder with skill and agility. This can only be done by integrating sustainability expeditiously into chemistry curricula.

In 2005, The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) provided the first global assessment of the world's ecosystems and ecosystem services. It concluded that recent trends in ecosystem change threatened human wellbeing due to declining ecosystem services. This bleak prophecy has galvanized conservation organizations, ecologists, and economists to work toward rigorous valuations of ecosystem services at a spatial scale and with a resolution that can inform public policy.
The editors have assembled the world's leading scientists in the fields of conservation, policy analysis, and resource economics to provide the most intensive and best technical analyses of ecosystem services to date. A key idea that guides the science is that the modelling and valuation approaches being developed should use data that are readily available around the world. In addition, the book documents a toolbox of ecosystem service mapping, modeling, and valuation models that both The Nature Conservancy and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) are beginning to apply around the world as they transform conservation from a biodiversity only to a people and ecosystem services agenda. The book addresses land, freshwater, and marine systems at a variety of spatial scales and includes discussion of how to treat both climate change and cultural values when examining tradeoffs among ecosystem services.

This book makes a serious effort at bringing forth and synergistically combining the concepts of green chemistry, sustainability and nanotechnology and should motivate scientistsat all levels to think clearly and seriously about creating and optimizing novel and sustainable green approaches to nanotechnology. The chapters in this book can be divided into three broad categories: 1) Advancement in research on pollution control through the green chemistry principles of nanotechnology; 2) Emergence of nanomaterials in widespread applications in various scientific fields, including but not limited to sensors and catalysts; 3) Extension of research into nanotechnology and green nanotechnology at a rapid pace. Review articles on the individual aspects of these diverse and complementary topics have become important resources for researchers, industry leaders, and regulators, both nationally and internationally. This book contains a few chapters associated with these particular themes, and provides glimpses of the many difficulties and challenges faced by those who seek to not only understand but also regulate the new nanomaterials. Nanotechnology represents a unique field of science, and necessitates new and novel sustainable approaches to create usable end products for the market place with the primary goal of yielding less adverse effects upon both human health and the environment.

A dramatic change of ownership, regulation, and organisation of essential public services, such as electricity, gas, and telecommunications, has taken place in Europe in less than 20 years. This was not the outcome of spontaneous adaptation, but an entirely top-down policy experiment, mainly conceived in London during Mrs Thatcher's years, then pursued in Brussels - the 'capital' of the European Union - and imposed on more or less reluctant players by laws, directives, regulations, and administrative and judicial decisions. The European reform paradigm revolves around three pillars: privatisation, unbundling, and regulated liberalisation of network industries. These industries, despite the reforms, are still special, as they include core natural monopoly components (the electricity grid, the gas pipelines, the telephony networks, etc.), are often based on complex system integration of different segments (for example of electricity generation, transmission, distribution and retail supply), and offer services that have critical social and economic importance, from heating to internet. This book offers a careful scrutiny of energy and telephony reforms and prices paid by households in 15 countries across Western Europe. It attempts to answer such questions as: Are the consumers in Europe happier than they were before the reforms? Do they pay less? Do they get a better quality for the services? Network Industries and Social Welfare provides an overview of the main facts, the conceptual issues, and of the empirical evidence on pricing, perceptions of quality of service, and the issues of utility poverty and social affordability. It suggests that the benefits of the reforms for the consumers have often been limited and that governments should reconsider their overconfidence in regulated market mechanisms in network industries.

You will never look at your cell phone, TV, or computer the same way after reading this book. Maxwell and Miller not only reveal the dirty secrets that hide inside our beloved electronics; they also take apart the myths that have pushed these gadgets to the center of our lives. With an astounding array of economic, environmental and historical facts, Greening the Media debunks the idea that information and communication technologies (ITC) are clean and ecologically benign. In this compassionate and sharply argued book, the authors show how the physical reality of making, consuming, and discarding them is rife with toxic ingredients, poisonous working conditions, and hazardous waste. But all is not lost. As the title suggests, Maxwell and Miller dwell critically on these environmental problems in order to think creatively about ways to solve them. They enlist a range of potential allies in this effort to foster greener media-from green consumers to green citizens, with stops along the way to hear from exploited workers, celebrities, and assorted bureaucrats. Maxwell and Miller rethink the status of print and screen technologies from a perspective unique in media studies, one that enables them to open new lines of historical and social analysis of ICT, consumer electronics, and media production. This original and highly readable book is for anyone who marvels at the high tech goodies surrounding us and wonders "How have they been made?," "By whom?," "Where?," and "Under what conditions?"

Many people have serious concerns about the environment and wonder whether solving environmental problems is compatible with continuing economic growth. This book provides an in-depth exploration of a proposed reform to the national tax system, whereby the burden of taxes is shifted from conventional taxes, such as those levied on labour and capital, to taxes on environmentally related activities, that involve resource use, particularly energy, or environmental pollution. There is some experience of such 'environmental tax reform' (ETR) in Europe, and the book briefly reviews this before considering how a more ambitious ETR in Europe could substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and material flows through the economy, while stimulating innovation and investment in the key 'clean and green' sectors of the economy which seem likely to play an increasing part in the creation of prosperity in Europe and elsewhere in the future.
Case studies of renewable energy, construction, fuel-efficient vehicles, and waste management in Germany show how these fast-growing sectors are making an increasing contribution to employment, output, and exports in the German economy, while improving the environment. The book explores the implications of introducing it on a much wider scale throughout the European Union. A unique modelling exercise, using two macroeconomic models, delivers varied and complementary insights into the economic and environmental results of a large-scale ETR in Europe, and its effects on and implications for the rest of the world. The modelling suggests that such a policy has a key role in the achievement of Europe's targets to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and, if implemented with cooperative policy in other countries, could significantly reduce global emissions.
The book is essential and hopeful reading for anyone who has wondered how, with today's intensifying environmental challenges, economic growth could become more environmentally sustainable.

While politicians, entrepreneurs, and even school children could tell you that sustainability is an important and nearly universal value, many of them, and many of us, may struggle to define the term, let alone trace its history. What is sustainability? Is it always about the environment? What science do we need to fully grasp what it requires? What does sustainability mean for business? How can governments plan for a sustainable future? This short, accessible book written in the signature question-and-answer format of the What Everyone Needs to Know (R) series tackles these and numerous other questions. Sustainability is a porous topic, which has been adapted and reshaped for developing ecological models, improving corporate responsibility, setting environmental and land-use policies, organizing educational curricula, and reimagining the goals of governance and democracy. Where other treatments of this topic tend to focus on just one application of sustainability, this primer encompasses everything from global development and welfare to social justice and climate change. With chapters that discuss sustainability in the contexts of profitable businesses, environmental risks, scientific research, and the day-to-day business of local government, it gives readers a deep understanding of one of the most essential concepts of our time. Bringing to bear experience in natural resource conservation, agriculture, the food industry, and environmental ethics, authors Paul B. Thompson and Patricia E. Norris explain clearly what sustainability means, and why getting it right is so important for the future of our planet.

Hardly a day passes without prominent journalists, policymakers, academics, or scientists calling attention to the worldwide scale of the environmental crisis confronting humankind. While climate change has generated the greatest alarm in recent years, other global problems - desertification, toxic pollution, species extinctions, drought and deforestation, to name just a few - loom close behind. The scope of the most pressing environmental problems far exceeds the capacity of individual nation-states, much less smaller political entities. This disjuncture between the enormous scale of challenges confronting the global community and the inadequacy of existing governmental mechanisms is, of course, a familiar feature of international affairs in the era of accelerated globalization since the end of the Cold War. As flows of money, goods, labor, and information (not to mention pollutants) have become increasingly global, governments have failed to keep pace by establishing new cooperative regimes or ceding authority to supranational regulatory institutions. Moreover, just as the problems confronting them have become more acute, nation-states have seen their authority diminished by economic globalization, the growth of non-governmental activist groups, and the accelerating flow of information. If such challenges are becoming more extreme in recent years, however, they are not as new as some commentary might suggest. As this book shows, nation-states have long sought agreements to manage migratory wildlife, just as they have negotiated conventions governing the exploitation of rivers and other bodies of water. Similarly, nation-states have long attempted to control resources beyond their borders, to impose their standards of proper environmental exploitation on others, or to draw on expertise developed elsewhere to cope with environmental problems at home. This collection examines this little-understood history, providing context, reference points, and even lessons that should inform ongoing debates about the best choices for the future.

This new edition of "Environmental and Natural Resources Economics" provides an accessible yet rigorous treatment of the subject, including the economics of sustainability. The new edition has been updated extensively throughout. A new chapter has been added on fisheries economics and policy, and the chapter on global climate change has been substantially rewritten to incorporate new scientific information and evolving public policy. Many new figures and tables have been added, and the glossary has also been expanded. Readers will appreciate the balanced and accessible coverage, and the integration of economics with science and public policy.

Concerns about sustainability have brought environmental economics to the foreground. These volumes are particularly concerned with issues relating to the long-term depletion of non-renewable resources.

* Comparative research on action to achieve local sustainable development in 11 European countries* The most broad-based and systematic study of Local Agenda 21 ever produced* Invaluable case studies and analysis for the future on achieving local sustainabilityThe book presents detailed comparative research into the implementation in 11 European countries of Local Agenda 21 - the action plan for sustainable development at community level. Overviews of implementation in each country are accompanied by analysis of positive and negative changes, as well as a comparative analysis with high academic and policy relevance. Numerous practical examples are included of best cases and crucial 'barriers. Highly relevant for preparations for the Earth Summit planned for 2002, the volume is directly relevant to political scientists and sociologists working on political change and governance issues.

The essential reference to all the rapidly multiplying international agreements on environment and development issues. This seventh annual edition of the Yearbook demonstrates the international community's position on specific environment and development problems, the main obstacles to effective international solutions, and how to overcome them. It assesses both the achievements and shortcomings of co-operation, distinguishing between the rhetoric and the reality of environment world politics.

"Fair Weather"s a unique, cross-disciplinary assessment of fairness and equity issues in the context of global climate change--a crucial dimension in current international negotiations--written by a collection of leading scientists in economics, sociology and social psychology, ethics, international law and political science.How should responsibility for adapting to climate change be distributed? Who should bear the costs of mitigating its impacts and how should these costs be measured? Answers to these questions differ, often according to the vulnerability, wealth and level of industrial development of the country.Finding a fair solution is controversial, but crucial to the complex and vital negotiations over global warming. This illuminating and accessible volume explores the policy dimensions and analytical needs of the negotiation process. It is essential reading for policy makers and students and teachers of economics, sociology and social psychology, ethics, international relations, law and political science.CONTRIBUTORSH Asbjorn AaheimFrank BiermannSamuel FankhauserCarsten HelmJuliane KokottJoanne Linnerooth-BayerVolker LinneweberElizabeth L MaloneShuzo NishiokaDavid W PearceSteve RaynerP R ShuklaDominik ThiemeMichael ThompsonRichard S J Tol David G Victor

Sustainable development requires consideration of the quality of life that future generations will be able to enjoy, and as the adjustment to sustainable lifestyles gathers momentum, the rights of future generations and our responsibility for their wellbeing is becoming a central issue. In this, the first book to address this emerging area of international law, leading experts examine the legal and theoretical frameworks for representing and safeguarding the interests of future generations in current international treaties. This unique volume will be required reading for academics and students of international environmental law and policy. Emmanuel Agius is Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Theology and Coordinator of the Future Generations Programme at the Foundation for International Studies, University of Malta. Salvino Busuttil is former Director General of the Foundation for International Studies. Future Generations and International Law is the seventh volume in the International Law and Sustainable Development series, co-developed with FIELD. The series aims to address and define the major legal issues associated with sustainable development and to contribute to the progressive development of international law. Other titles in the series are: Greening International Law, Interpreting the Precautionary Principle, Property Rights in the Defence of Nature, Improving Compliance with International Environmental Law, Greening International Institutions and Quotas in International Environmental Agreements. 'A legal parallel to the Blueprint series - welcome, timely and provocative' David Pearce Originally published in 1997

ISO 14001 is the new international standard for environmental management systems. But what difference will it make to the environmental performance of companies that receive it? Will it do anything to further sustainable industrial development? This edition seeks to argue that it will not and further that it does not have a legitimate practice in discussions of sustainable industrial development.;The authors point to a massive democratic deficit in the process of establishing the standard in which small and medium-size enterprises, developing country officals, public opinion and environmental groups may have trouble participating. They aim to argue that this has put up barriers to the full participation of these parties. Moreover, they seek to describe how the standard reverses the trend for firms to innovate to meet the challenge of sustainability.

Ensuring an adequate, long-term energy supply is a paramount concern in Europe. EU member states now intervene by encouraging investment in generation capacity, offering an additional revenue stream for conventional power plants in addition to the existing, heavily subsidised investments in renewable energy sources. These capacity remuneration mechanisms (or simply capacity mechanisms) have become a hot topic in the wider European regulatory debate. European electricity markets are increasingly interconnected, so the introduction of a capacity mechanism in one country not only distorts its national market but may have unforeseeable consequences for neighbouring electricity markets. If these mechanisms are adopted by several member states with no supra-national coordination and no consideration for their cross-border impact, they may cause serious market distortions and put the future of the European internal electricity market at risk. This book provides readers with an in-depth analysis of capacity mechanisms, written by an expert team of policy-makers, economists, and legal professionals. It will be a first point of reference for regulators and policy-makers responsible for designing optimal capacity mechanisms in Europe, and will be an invaluable resource for academics and practitioners in the fields of energy, regulation, and competition.