This book focuses on Youth Climate Courts, a bold new tool that young people in their teens and twenties can use to compel their local city or county government to live up to its human rights obligations, formally acknowledge the climate crisis, and take major steps to address it. Tom Kerns shows how youth climate leaders can form their own local Youth Climate Court, with youth judges, youth prosecuting attorneys, and youth jury members, and put their local city or county government on trial for not meeting its human rights obligations. Kerns describes how a Youth Climate Court works, how to start one, what human rights are, what they require of local governments, and what governmental changes a Youth Climate Court can realistically hope to accomplish. The book offers young activists a brand new, user-friendly, cost-free, barrier-free, powerful tool for forcing local governments to come to terms with their obligation to protect the rights of their citizens with respect to the climate crisis. This book offers a unique new tool to young climate activists hungry for genuinely effective ways to directly move governments to aggressively address the climate crisis.

Featuring a stellar international cast list of leading and cutting-edge scholars, The Routledge Handbook of the Political Economy of the Environment presents the state of the art of the discipline that considers ecological issues and crises from a political economy perspective. This collective volume sheds new light on the effect of economic and power inequality on environmental dynamics and, conversely, on the economic and social impact of environmental dynamics. The chapters gathered in this handbook make four original contributions to the field of political economy of the environment. First, they revisit essential concepts and methods of environmental economics in the light of their political economy. Second, they introduce readers to recent theoretical and empirical advances in key issues of political economy of the environment with a special focus on the relationship between inequality and environmental degradation, a nexus that has dramatically come into focus with the COVID crisis. Third, the authors of this handbook open the field to its critical global and regional dimensions: global issues, such as the environmental justice movement and inequality and climate change as well as regional issues such as agriculture systems, air pollution, natural resources appropriation and urban sustainability. Fourth and finally, the work shows how novel analysis can translate into new forms of public policy that require institutional reform and new policy tools. Ecosystems preservation, international climate negotiations and climate mitigation policies all have a strong distributional dimension that chapters point to. Pressing environmental policy such as carbon pricing and low-carbon and energy transitions entail numerous social issues that also need to be accounted for with new analytical and technological tools. This handbook will be an invaluable reference, research and teaching tool for anyone interested in political economy approaches to environmental issues and ecological crises.

Embracing the reality of biophysical limits to growth, this volume uses the technical tools from ecological economics to recast the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as Ecological Livelihood Goals - policy agendas and trajectories that seek to reconcile the social and spatial mobility and liberty of individuals, with both material security and ecological integrity. Since the 1970s, mainstream approaches to sustainable development have sought to reconcile ecological constraints with modernization through much vaunted and seldom demonstrated strategies of 'decoupling' and 'dematerialization'. In this context, the UN SDGs have become the orchestrating drivers of sustainability governance. However, biophysical limits are not so easily sidestepped. Building on an ecological- economic critique of mainstream economics and a historical- sociological understanding of state formation, this book explores the implications of ecological limits for modern progressive politics. Each chapter outlines leverage points for municipal engagement in local and regional contexts. Systems theory and community development perspectives are used to explore under- appreciated avenues for the kind of social and cultural change that would be necessary for any accommodation between modernity and ecological limits. Drawing on ideas from H.T. Odum, Herman Daly, Zigmunt Bauman, and many others, this book provides guiding research for a convergence between North and South that is bottom-up, household-centred, and predicated on a re- emerging domain of Livelihood. In each chapter, the authors provide recommendations for reconfiguring the UN's SDGs as Ecological Livelihood Goals - a framework for sustainable development in an era of limits. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of ecological economics, socio- ecological systems, political economy, international and community development, global governance, and sustainable development.

Since the publication of the Stern Review, economists have started to ask more normative questions about climate change. Should we act now or tomorrow? What is the best theoretical carbon price to reach long-term abatement targets? How do we discount the long-term costs and benefits of climate change? This provocative book argues that these are the wrong sorts of questions to ask because they don't take into account the policies that have already been implemented. Instead, it urges us to concentrate on existing policies and tools by showing how the development of carbon markets could dramatically reduce world greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, triggering policies to build a new low-carbon energy system while restructuring the way agriculture interacts with forests. This provides an innovative new perspective on how a post-Kyoto international climate regime could emerge from agreements between the main GHG emitters capping their emissions and building an international carbon market.

This book focuses on Youth Climate Courts, a bold new tool that young people in their teens and twenties can use to compel their local city or county government to live up to its human rights obligations, formally acknowledge the climate crisis, and take major steps to address it. Tom Kerns shows how youth climate leaders can form their own local Youth Climate Court, with youth judges, youth prosecuting attorneys, and youth jury members, and put their local city or county government on trial for not meeting its human rights obligations. Kerns describes how a Youth Climate Court works, how to start one, what human rights are, what they require of local governments, and what governmental changes a Youth Climate Court can realistically hope to accomplish. The book offers young activists a brand new, user-friendly, cost-free, barrier-free, powerful tool for forcing local governments to come to terms with their obligation to protect the rights of their citizens with respect to the climate crisis. This book offers a unique new tool to young climate activists hungry for genuinely effective ways to directly move governments to aggressively address the climate crisis.

Originally published in 1979, this book discusses the model developed to deal with air pollution from coal fired power plants, but it broadly also illustrates how available scientific information can be organized to improve our understanding of pollution control. This information enables economists to discuss the relevant consequences of specific air pollution abatement strategies. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of a computer based environmental model, the model is applied to a specific case study. The object of the case study is the control of air pollution from a coal-fired, electrical generating station in New Haven, USA. The research contained in this volume advances applied risk analysis by combining the insights of economics and environmental sciences.

Originally published in 1973, this book has enduring relevance in the 21st Century. Asking difficult questions it encourages the reader to think about the individual and societal changes which are needed to protect the planet and the health and prosperity of future generations. Despite the title of the book, it covers air, water and land pollution, evolution, the industrial revolution, the growth of technology, climatology and meteorology, pollution legislation and the economics of a green economy.

Originally published in 1973 and based on papers published in The International Journal of Environmental Studies, this book discusses the impact of road vehicles on the environment. Particular stress is laid on the design of towns and vehicles, economic problems associated with these, the responsibility of planners and the integration of transport planning and environmental planning at local, regional and national levels. Subsequent sections cover the science of accident research and legislation, particularly dealing with global pollution control. Many of the problems discussed remain as pressing today as when this book was first published.

Originally published in 1994 this volume includes contributions from environmental scientists, consultants and research workers. The incidence and effects of the phenomenon of acid rain in the late 1970s, 80s and early 1990s , as well as certain remedies, are discussed at length. The roles of vehicles and power stations are examined in detail and legal aspects of curbing acid rain are considered.

Oil pollution has been a major environmental concern since the 1920s. The search for a solution has ranged from prevention to partial measures coupled with compensation and remedial action. This book, originally published in 1987, offers a different assessment of the efforts of governments and the oil and maritime industries. It was also the first book to provide a comprehensive story of control policies and practices, using primary and secondary sources. The book identified numerous factor - personalities, state policies, developments in the oil and shipping industries, public agitation and scientific studies in a framework useful for analysing any environmental problem.

Originally published in 1990, this book analysed the sensitivity of the world food system and looked at the variety of ways in which it would be affected by climate change. It describes the effects of climate change on agriculture, estimates the impacts on plant and animal growth and looks at the geographical limits to different types of farming. It also considers the range of possible ways to adapt agriculture and so to mitigate the disastrous consequences of climate change.

Originally published in 1931 (this re-issues the 8th edition of 1953), this book gives students a comprehensive account of global climatic types and the impact of climate on economics, issues of race, health, meteorology and geography. Climate change is covered from earliest times up until the middle of the twentieth century. The material is supplemented with 82 black and white maps/diagrams.

Originally published in 1989, this book provides an overview of the economic dimensions of climate and human activities, and considers how the variable nature of the atmosphere must be accepted as an integral part of the management package. It discusses how climatic repercussions can hold major importance for international politics, particularly in the light of the impacts of climatic changes induced by greenhouse gases.

Originally published in 1994, this book links the distant past with the urgent problems of today, taking the reader on a literary and scientific tour of global pollution from pre-history to the post-industrial age. Ancient problems such as lead poisoning in Rome and water pollution in Mesopotamia provide the background to a discussion of modern catastrophes including the hole in the ozone layer, climate change and the global drinking water crisis. The book chronicles 800 years of pollution in London, charts the growth of environmental activism and spotlights the rise of the consumer society as the driving force behind today's malaise.

Originally published in 1980, this book is an original approach to the study of the atmosphere at A Level and introductory undergraduate courses. A true understanding of the way the atmosphere works is only attainable on a firm basis of science and the book concentrates on this aspect in a clear and straightforward manner without introducing advanced mathematics. The book discusses the atmosphere in terms of a machine fuelled by the Sun and it deals with the energy involved in global circulations before looking at local processes and finally global patterns. With a clear recognition of the vulnerability of climate to our wellbeing on a global scale, this book remains as relevant now as when it was first published.

This book presents the ways in which three key issues of the modern world - transformation, digitalisation and sustainability - may be combined for the greater good and highlights which activities may be designed to integrate these three directly linked paths. It is an experience-derived and evidence-based analysis of how sustainable development impacts the transformation of the economy and how the business environment influences economic transformation in the light of the sustainable development principles. The book addresses the current challenges and shows how the economy can be transformed further in an organic way that meets the needs of society and the environment, through the use of digital technologies. The multidisciplinary approach to sustainability transformation is one of the core strengths of the book, as it emphasises the need for a holistic approach to the functioning of sustainable development ideas at the micro- and macro-levels. The authors present a fresh perspective, particularly around the regulations stimulating the sustainable development of enterprises, tax systems, and the allocation of capital. Moreover, the book brings together and makes available the results of the latest research on the subject, using a vast amount of primary evidence and both quantitative and qualitative methodology. The authors' insights go beyond the obvious effects of economic transformation and call attention to ways in which smart technology and digitalisation may help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The book is directed first and foremost towards academics, researchers and students, but also professionals, who would like to expand their knowledge of sustainable development from a scientific perspective. Chapter 1 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

This book explores how the State can play a role as an enabler of citizens-led social innovations, to accelerate the shift to sustainable and socially just lifestyles. To meet the twin challenges of environmental degradation and the rise of inequalities, societal transformation is urgent. Most theories of social change focus either on the role of the State, on the magic of the market, or on the power of technological innovation. This book explores instead how local communities, given the freedom to experiment, can design solutions that can have a transformative impact. Change cannot rely only on central ordering by government, nor on corporations suddenly acting as responsible citizens. Societal transformation, at the speed and scope required, also should be based on the reconstitution of social capital, and on new forms of democracy emerging from collective action at the local level. The State matters of course, for the provision of both public services and of social protection, and to discipline the market, but it should also act as an enabler of citizen-led experimentation, and it should set up an institutional apparatus to ensure that collective learning spreads across jurisdictions. Corporations themselves can ensure that society taps the full potential of citizens-led social innovations: they can put their know-how, their access to finance, and their control of logistical chains in the service of such innovations, rather than focusing on shaping consumers' tastes or even adapting to consumers' shifting expectations. With this aim in mind, this book provides empirical evidence of how social innovations, typically developed within "niches", initially at a relatively small scale, can have society-wide impacts. It also examines the nature of the activism deployed by social innovators, and the emergence of a "do-it-yourself" form of democracy. This book will appeal to all those interested in driving societal change and social innovation to ensure a sustainable and socially just future for all.

As carbon dioxide is the most significant source of greenhouse gases today, its emission quantity has become a primary focus of governments, scholars and the general public. From the perspective of industrial structure, the book mainly explores the features of carbon emissions in China. The author thoroughly studies related theories and literature about industrial structure and climate change, and reviews the different development histories of developed countries and China. Based on historical data, this volume discusses the influence of interprovincial industrial structure and income level on carbon emissions, and tries to estimate different industrial sectors' carbon emissions. It especially studies the case of Zhejiang Province, and analyses several factors which affect CO2 emissions. The book provides international readers with rich information about the characteristics, patterns and drivers of China's CO2 emissions, which will definitely help scholars and students better understand China's economy.

Drawing upon comprehensive evaluations of the GEF, it provides unique insights from authors responsible for designing, implementing, and disseminating the findings of the evaluations. No other multilateral development or environment agency places evaluation fully at the center of their decision making. Provides useful pointers to other organizations wishing to enhance evidence-based decision making for improving their relevance, performance, and impact.

Originally published in 1985, this volume of essays was compiled in honour of Gordon Manley, a major and distinctive twentieth-century figure in climatology. The range and scope of the topics covered reflect the eclectic interests of Manley, whose orientation was always towards the importance of climate and its impact on mankind. The state of the art of climatic change is considered at different scales by the contributors: from instrumental records on a local scale from Durham and Manchester to discussions on the regional and continental scale. Methodological problems relating to climatic change are treated. The effects of climate and climatic change on plant distribution, disease vectors and agricultural pests are also considered.

This book is a compilation of chapters on scientific work in novel and innovative reference that compiles interdisciplinary perspectives about diverse issues related with Industry 4.0 and smart cities in different ways, i.e., intelligent optimisation, industrial applications in the real world, social applications and technology applications with a different perspective about existing solutions. Chapters review research in improving optimisation in smart manufacturing, logistics of products and services, optimisation of different elements in the time and location, social applications to enjoy our life of a better way and applications that increase daily life quality. This book covers applications of Industry 4.0; applications to improve the life of the citizens in a smart city; and finally, welfare of the working-age population and their expectations in their jobs correlated with the welfare-work relationship.

The Innovation and Sustainability in Base of the Pyramid Markets series comprises four volumes, covering theoretical perspectives, themes, and various aspects of interest across four key geographical regions where Base of the Pyramid (BOP) markets are located - Latin America, Asia, Africa, and affluent countries. This book focuses on the BOP markets in Asia, and in particular the challenge of how to address the needs of deprived population groups in a sustainable manner. Base of the Pyramid Markets in Asia deals with, amongst other topics, the innovation and innovativeness that is necessary to better the life of resource-poor population groups. The book covers various themes and aspects of BOP markets in Asia and their embeddedness in socio-cultural settings, and adopts a variety of theoretical angles for analysing the phenomena. Thus, this book aims at furthering our understanding of BOP markets in Asia and at deriving valuable recommendations for managers and policy makers. BOP markets face unique challenges and private sector actors alone cannot ensure sustainable value creation activities. Multidimensional elements and factors are needed to alleviate poverty and create economic development aligned with principles of sustainable development. Therefore, the book comprises critical and empirical studies as well as conceptual papers on the challenges linked to BOP markets in Asian countries. This book is recommended reading for managers and policy makers, as well as students and academics interested in Base of the Pyramid markets.

Planning Regional Futures is an intellectual call to engage planners to critically explore what planning is, and should be, in how cities and regions are planned. This is in a context where planning is seen to face powerful challenges - professionally, intellectually and practically - in ways arguably not seen before: planning is no longer solely the domain of professional planners but opened-up to a diverse group of actors; the link between the study of cities and regions, which traditionally had a disciplinary home in planning schools and the like, steadily eroded as research increasingly takes place in interdisciplinary research institutes; the advent of real-time modelling posing fundamental challenges for the type of long-term perspective that planning has traditionally afforded; 'regional planning' and its mixed record of achievement; and, the link between 'region' and 'planning' becoming decoupled as alternative regional (and other spatial) approaches to planning have emerged. This book takes up the intellectual and practical challenge of planning regional futures, moving beyond the narrow confines of existing debate and providing a forum for debating what planning is, and should be, for in how we plan cities and regions. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Regional Studies.

As the first biography of Professor Herman Daly, this book provides an in-depth account of one of the leading thinkers and most widely read writers on economics, environment and sustainability. Herman Daly's economics for a full world, based on his steady-state economics, has been widely acknowledged through numerous prestigious international awards and prizes. Drawing on extensive interviews with Daly and in-depth analysis of his publications and debates, Peter Victor presents a unique insight into Daly's life from childhood to the present day, describing his intellectual development, inspirations and influence. Much of the book is devoted to a comprehensive account of Daly's foundational contributions to ecological economics. It describes how his insights and proposals have been received by economists and non-economists and the extraordinary relevance of Daly's full world economics to solving the economic problems of today and tomorrow. Innovative and timely, this book will be of great interest to students, scholars, researchers, activists and policy makers concerned with economics, environment and sustainability.

This book explores the concept of degrowth, beginning from a basic assumption, not of resource depletion, as is common in most literature in the field, but rather from a state of abundance, arguing that there is a vast amount of energy on the planet waiting to be utilized by all its inhabitants. Adopting a sociological approach, Onofrio Romano argues that the growth momentum is not simply a broadly shared "value," but the physiological outcome of a specific institutional frame. The problem is that in its mainstream formulation the degrowth alternative shares with the growth-led regime some basic anthropological, political, and institutional pillars. In order to build a real alternative, Romano suggests reviewing degrowth in the light of the depense notion by Georges Bataille. According to Bataille, our societies have no problem with acknowledging scarcity, but with dealing with the surplus energy that calls us to act for a qualified life. So, in order to erase the growth obsession, we have to ward off the "servile" dimension, i.e., the utilitarian activities needed for the mere reproduction of life, to regain sovereignty, as reflected in the de-thinking subject. Innovative and provocative, Towards a Society of Degrowth will be of great interest to students and scholars of degrowth, sociology, social anthropology, political ecology, and ecological economics.