Parallax of Growth explores the ideas of economy and ecology and the factors that have put them on a collision course. Bjerg argues that our current mode of economic organization is characterized by an inherent 'debt drive', whereby the creation of money through the issuance of commercial bank credit has locked our economy into a vicious circle of forced growth and increasing debt. Parallax of Growth is not a catalogue of solutions to the ecological or the economic crisis. The book aims to shift the inquiry from 'what shall we do?' to 'why have we not already done it?' In order to address the challenges of our contemporary times of crisis, we need to understand how the idea of growth is deeply ingrained in the ideology as well as the organization of our society. The book aims to open the space for philosophical thinking about this important issue.

There has been some degree of reluctance in the past to consider disaster risk management within the mainstream of adaptation to climate variability and climate change. However, there is now wide recognition of the need to incorporate disaster risk management concerns in dealing with such phenomena. There is also a growing awareness of the necessity for a multi-sectoral approach in managing the effects of climate variability and climate change, since this can lead to a significant reduction of risk. This book presents the latest findings from scientific research on climate variation, climate change and their links with disaster risk management. It showcases projects and other initiatives in this field that are being undertaken in both industrialised and developing countries, by universities and scientific institutions, government bodies, national and international agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders. Finally, it discusses current and future challenges, identifying opportunities and highlighting the still unrealised potential for promoting better understanding of the connections between climate variation, climate change and disaster risk management worldwide.

This book presents a comprehensive overview and analysis of mangrove ecological processes, structure, and function at the local, biogeographic, and global scales and how these properties interact to provide key ecosystem services to society. The analysis is based on an international collaborative effort that focuses on regions and countries holding the largest mangrove resources and encompasses the major biogeographic and socio-economic settings of mangrove distribution. Given the economic and ecological importance of mangrove wetlands at the global scale, the chapters aim to integrate ecological and socio-economic perspectives on mangrove function and management using a system-level hierarchical analysis framework. The book explores the nexus between mangrove ecology and the capacity for ecosystem services, with an emphasis on thresholds, multiple stressors, and local conditions that determine this capacity. The interdisciplinary approach and illustrative study cases included in the book will provide valuable resources in data, information, and knowledge about the current status of one of the most productive coastal ecosystem in the world.

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.

* The real strength of the book lies in setting out an alternative vision to the current practice in economics, especially in light of the re-evaluation being forced by COVID-19 in addition to the climate crisis. * Offers an important challenge to the current corporate sustainability gospel expressed in recent books. * Written by a well-recognised commentator on the environment and economics. * The book specifically connects global environmental imperatives with their microeconomic implications for businesses and households, which makes it utterly unique.

The third decade of the 21st century brings new and expansive global sustainability challenges. Managers, policymakers, academics, citizens, and consumers will have to make seemingly contradictory decisions to accelerate demand, and at the same time promote savings. For this reason, it is necessary to clarify that it is not a process of recovery but of regeneration, adaptation and reprioritization. Regenerative and Sustainable Futures for Latin America and the Caribbean: Collective action for a region with a better tomorrow offers a systematic review of past efforts to recover from global crises providing an analysis of the sustainable development challenges faced by Latin America and the Caribbean. Featuring contributions from researchers in seven different Latin American and Caribbean countries, this volume reflects primary data perspectives from government, business, academe and civil society leaders in each specific country. Regenerative and Sustainable Futures for Latin America and the Caribbean explores how to build sustainable futures for Latin America and the Caribbean, presents recommendations for policy and decision-makers to thrive sustainable futures for Latin America and the Caribbean and reflects on the value of collective action for a region that deserves a better tomorrow.

This book contributes to an ongoing debate about the EU as a global actor, the organization's ability to speak with one voice in energy affairs, and the external dimension of the regulatory state. Investigating whether the Energy Union amounts to a fundamental shift towards Europe's new 'Liberal Mercantilism', it gathers high-level contributors from academia and the policy world to shed light on the changing nature of the EU's use of power in one of its most crucial policy fields. It argues that the Energy Union epitomizes a change in the EU's approach to managing its economic power. Whilst the EU remains committed to a liberal approach to international political economy, it seems ready to promote regulation for the purpose of augmenting its own power at the expense of others, notably Russia. This edited collection will appeal to political scientists, economists and energy experts.

This book highlights the application of Geographical Information System (GIS) and nature based algorithms to solve the problems of water and water based renewable energy resources. The irregularity in availability of resources and inefficiency in utilization of the available resources has reduced the potentiality of water and water based renewable energy resources. In recent years various soft computation methods (SCM) along with GIS were adopted to solve critical problems. The book collects various studies where many SCMs were used along with GIS to provide a solution for optimal utilization of natural resources for satisfying the basic needs of the population as well as fulfilling their burgeoning energy demands. The articles depict innovative application of soft computation techniques to identify the root cause and to mitigate the uncertainty for optimal utilization of the available water resources. The advantage of SCM and GIS were used to maximize the utilization of water resources under cost and time constraints in face of climatic abnormalities and effect of rapid urbanization.

This book is a compilation of selected papers from the Fourth International Technical Symposium on Deepwater Oil and Gas Engineering & The Third International Youth Forum on Gas Hydrate, held in Qingdao, China in December 2021. The work focuses on the advancement of techniques for the deepwater oil and gas exploitation and natural gas hydrate exploitation. The book introduces new ideas for exploring deepwater oil and gas hydrate in a safe and efficient way. Advances of the natural gas hydrate pilot production in South China Sea, in oil and gas flow assurance and emerging technologies based on clathrate hydrate will be presented. It is a valuable resource for both practitioners and academics working in the field of deepwater oil and gas engineering.

This book explores the impacts of current mining licensing regimes in Africa and how they influence sustainable development principles. International law and conventions on mining are used as a lens to examine a regionalized perspective of the history of mining law and customary land law. Alternative approaches are then suggested, through a comparative and sovereignty-based study of mining laws and policies, to see how the challenge of uneven development can be combatted using minerals. This book aims to highlight how mineral possessions can transform communities if the economic policies, customary law structures, and the geopolitical landscape guarantee inclusivity and equal partnerships. It will be relevant to researchers and policymakers interested in mineral economics, mining law, and African economies.

This modern and comprehensive book offers a broad survey of economic growth theory, with special emphasis on the impact of natural resources on long-term development. The book begins with the standard growth models of the 1950s and 1960s and extends its analysis to the so-called 'new' growth theory, in which the long-term growth rate of an economy becomes an endogenous variable. The impact of positive spillovers, human capital formation, public services and innovation on the growth process are carefully studied. Using models and empirical illustration, the author evaluates to what extent growth theory is able to explain the huge international differences in living standards prevailing in the world today. The theoretical foundation is then used to consider the issue of sustainable growth under stricter environmental regulation. Growth Theory and Sustainable Development shows that the understanding of growth theory is an important key to predict the sustainability of long-term development, making it required reading for students of economic development and environmental economics.

In its second volume, this book aims to link the academic research with development in the real world and provide a historical and institutional background that can enrich more formal research. The first section will include an assessment of the evolution and the state of the nascent second-generation biofuel as well as a perspective on the evolution of corn ethanol and sugarcane ethanol in Brazil. It will also include a historical and institutional background on the biofuel industry in Brazil that has global lessons, and later, provide a technical overview of major analytical tools used to assess the economic, land use and greenhouse gas implications of biofuel policies at a regional and global level. Additionally, the book analyzes the various drivers for land use change both at a micro-economic level and at a macro-economic level. It presents studies that apply regional and global economic models to examine the effects of biofuel policies in the US, EU and Brazil on regional and global land use, on food and fuel prices and greenhouse gas emissions. These papers illustrate the use of partial and general equilibrium modeling approaches to simulate the effects of various biofuel policies, and includes studies showing the effects of risk aversion, time preferences and liquidity constraints on farmers decision to grow energy crops for biofuel production. By presenting the tools of lifecycle analysis for assessing the direct greenhouse gas intensity of biofuels, this handbook investigates the types of indirect or market mediated effects that can offset or strengthen these direct effects. It will include tools to assess the direct and indirect effects of biofuel production on greenhouse gas emissions in the US and Brazil, and ultimately provide a comprehensive background to understand the state of biofuel in the present and how to analyze their implication.

This book is the first volume of a monograph series published by the Socio-Economic History Society, Japan. The purpose of the series is to make works by Japanese scholars accessible to a wider readership and to increase the knowledge of scholars in this field, particularly in relation to Asia. This volume includes four chapters on energy and the environment of Japan, China and Britain and four short book reviews on recent academic works published in Japanese and English. The four chapters cover the following topics: the relationship between deforestation and the development of the silk reeling industry in a district of Nagano Prefecture (central Japan) from the 1870s to the 1900s and the subsequent shift from firewood to coal; the importance of timber supplies for the development of industry as illustrated by a case study on the supply of timber for use as rail sleepers in the Japanese national railway network during the prewar period; a methodological survey of the history of ecology and the environment in China; and an analysis of the British Smoke Nuisance Abatement Act of 1821 as a measure that incorporated the interests of politicians, landlords and industrialists.

The Political Economy of Nature draws extensively on current insights from sociology, ecology, economics, and earth science. Robert Boardman pools these diverse resources to argue that the investigation of environmental issues raises complex theoretical questions, which can only be answered through more sustained links between the natural and social sciences. With global issues becoming an increasingly vital part of environmental debate, Boradman shows how understanding of ecological problems can be increased in both International Relations and International Political Economy.

This book examines the recent controversy between international trade and environmental policies. It analyses the use of environmentally-motivated trade policies, national environmental policies, and their relationships with the rules governing trade, critically examining proposals rule reform. A theoretical framework is provided for a consideration of the efficiency of environmental trade policies and an evaluation made of empirical links between environmental policy differences and trade flows. Concerns of developing countries over environmentally-motivated market access restrictions are highlighted in considering international trade rules and the agreements reached at UNCED.

Energy policies play a pivotal part in helping countries achieve their sustainable development goals. Further, energy is one of the critical raw materials in companies' production processes. Therefore, ensuring a steady energy supply is essential to increasing production; otherwise, countries will inevitably slide into recession. In this context, countries should select their energy policies on the basis of a comprehensive analysis. In order to achieve this goal, many different factors must be considered at the same time.The aim of this book is to determine the right energy policies for the sustainable economic development of countries. In this framework, effective strategies for different types of energy will be presented and vital issues such as determining the right locations for nuclear power plants, providing optimal government incentives to increase clean energy investments, and determining appropriate energy policies to reduce energy dependence will be examined. Thus, country-specific optimal energy policies will be outlined, contributing to the achievement of the UN's sustainable development goals (SDG).

Our current economic systems have become addicted to growth at all costs, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). They assume that GDP growth is synonymous with increased wellbeing and prosperity. However, this approach has led to growing inequality, an escalating climate crisis, and the depletion of natural and social capital. Our approach to economics and development needs to be fundamentally transformed. New Challenges for Future Sustainability and Wellbeing is a collection of 25 studies about sustainability and the related challenges, such as income, wealth, social aspects, the environment, education and regional equality that influence the pace of economic development and deteriorates well-being of people and organisations all over the world. This book provides a platform for scholars, researchers and professionals from different disciplinary backgrounds to discuss, highlight and exchange ideas on these challenges and prospects for both economic and business development.

Mitchell analyses the extent to which the current political paradigm is capable of meeting the challenges of climate change. She argues that unless there are fundamental changes to policy-making, it is unlikely that energy policies will be able to deliver sufficient change to enable a move to a sustainable energy economy.

This open access textbook provides a concise introduction to economic approaches and mathematical methods for the study of water allocation and distribution problems. Written in an accessible and straightforward style, it discusses and analyzes central issues in integrated water resource management, water tariffs, water markets, and transboundary water management. By illustrating the interplay between the hydrological cycle and the rules and institutions that govern today's water allocation policies, the authors develop a modern perspective on water management. Moreover, the book presents an in-depth assessment of the political and ethical dimensions of water management and its institutional embeddedness, by discussing distribution issues and issues of the enforceability of human rights in managing water resources. Given its scope, the book will appeal to advanced undergraduate and graduate students of economics and engineering, as well as practitioners in the water sector, seeking a deeper understanding of economic approaches to the study of water management.

Climate change is one of the major environmental concern of many countries in the world. Negotiations to control potential climate changes have been taking place, from Rio to Kyoto, for the last five years. There is a widespread consciousness that the risk of incurring in relevant economic and environmental losses due to climate change is high. Scientific analyses have become more and more precise on the likely impacts of climate change. According to the Second Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, current trends in greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions may indeed cause the average global temperature to increase by 1-3. 5 DegreesC over the next 100 years. As a result, sea levels are expected to rise by 15 to 95 em and climate zones to shift towards the poles by 150 to 550 km in mid latitudes. In order to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, the IPCC report concludes that a stabilization of atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide - one of the major GHGs - at 550 parts per million by volume (ppmv) is recommended. This would imply a reduction of global emissions of about 50 per cent with respect to current levels. In this context, countries are negotiating to achieve a world-wide agreement on GHGs emissions control in order to stabilize climate changes. Despite the agreement on targets achieved in Kyoto, many issues still remain unresolved.

The authors examine how far internal policies in the European Union move towards the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by 80-95 per cent by 2050, and how or whether the EU's 2050 objective to 'decarbonise' could affect the EU's relations with a number of external energy partners.

This fully updated and comprehensively revised edition of a classic text concentrates on the economics of conserving the living environment. It begins by covering the ethical foundations and basic economic paradigms' essential for understanding and assessing ecological economics. General strategies for global environmental conservation, policies for government intervention, developing countries, preserving wildlife and biodiversity, open-access to and common property in natural resources, conservation of natural areas, forestry, agriculture and the environment, tourism, sustainable development and demographic change are also all covered. This second edition deals with contemporary environmental policy issues that can be expected to be of lasting concern and importance - each chapter benefiting from either the addition of substantial sections of new material, valuable explanations or updates and revisions in light of developments in theory or world events and conditions. Updated techniques of economic analysis are also introduced, explained simply, and applied as appropriate. Economics of Environmental Conservation, Second Edition is written in an engaging and accessible manner and as such will be warmly received by both specialists and non-specialists in economics. It will find a wide readership amongst academics and policymakers in the fields of ecological, environmental and natural resource economics as well as those involved in development studies, environmental management and science, and conservation ecology and biology. Particular chapters will be of interest to those in tourism studies, agriculture, wildlife management and forestr

New information and strategies for managing the energy crisis from the perspective of growing economies are presented. Numerous case studies illustrate the particular challenges that developing countries, many of which are faced with insufficient resources, encounter. As a result, many unique strategies to the problems of energy management an conservation, environmental engineering, clean technologies, biological and chemical waste treatment and waste management have been developed.

A Dictionary of Climate Change and the Environment bridges the gap between the many disciplines encompassing climate change, environmental economics, environmental sciences, and environmental studies. It defines a comprehensive set of over 3700 words used across these fields to help policy makers, students, and professionals achieve a holistic view of environmental issues. The dictionary also features: introductory primers to major topic areas; recommended reading for particular topics and specific words or concepts; and seven appendices, including a catalog of scientific symbols, units, and conversions, as well as an expansive listing and description of selected environmental treaties. The extensive and accessible nature of the content renders this book an indispensible reference for practitioners requiring an informed and balanced description of key concepts and issues. This resource will be extremely valuable to policy makers and professionals working on climate change and other environmental issues, and to postgraduate and undergraduate students in climate change and environmental studies, as well as to academics and other practitioners working on multidisciplinary environmental issues outside their area of expertise.