An entrepreneur and a social activist remake the future of investing and business, offering a groundbreaking "win-win" roadmap for creating wealth and addressing inequalities by investing in groundbreaking tech companies that defy assumptions from Silicon Valley to Wall Street. Companies backed by venture capital drive the U.S. economy, accounting for hundreds of billions of dollars in sales and profits. The problem is that most of the wealth created winds up enriching elites while the businesses funded by venture capitalists widen economic inequality. Committed to doing things differently, tech venture capitalists Freada Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor launched Kapor Capital to prove that investing in gap-closing startups-companies whose services or products close opportunity gaps for both communities of color and low-income communities-is good business. Over the past decade, they've broadened the definition of success to include profits and accountability for the impacts a business has on employees, communities, and the planet, helping to launch close to 200 companies engaged in achieving social and economic justice while showing remarkable growth, with many valued in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. Like every VC firm, they have experienced high-profile blowups and total losses. But Kapor Capital's investing principles have created a stunning new ecosystem of Black and Latinx entrepreneurs, CEOs, and investors, all devising innovative, effective solutions to address the most pernicious problems afflicting many of America's poorest communities. In Closing the Equity Gap, Freada and Mitch share their core beliefs that all companies must make a positive impact, and that the obstacles entrepreneurs overcome in life are a far better predictor of long-term success than the schools they attend or investment dollars raised from friends and family. Using stories behind some of the most remarkable companies ever launched, they show that the standard investment model doesn't work, how it can be fixed, and what the future could look like if more investors joined them.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Evaluating achievements, challenges and future avenues for research, this book explores how new dimensions of knowledge and practice contest, reshape and advance traditional understandings of sustainable consumption governance. By questioning existing academic discourse and advocating collective solutions, up-and-coming and established scholars help readers to understand diverse governance processes through a wide variety of topics. These range from consumption impacts, the circular and sharing economy, sustainable business models, consumer behaviour and work time, to understanding the role of new actors such as prosumers and city governments. The research agenda supports transformative system changes to a more sustainable society. Policy makers at international, national and local levels will benefit from the practical advice offered and forward-thinking policy suggestions. It will also be a timely read for scholars of sustainability studies, sociology of consumption, political economy and political ecology, human geography, wellbeing, environment studies and human ecology looking to gain a more well-rounded understanding of the topic.

This inspirational guide is bursting with invaluable know-how on Scotland's wild harvest, covering what, where, when and how you can use your bounty in sustainable ways - from the most useful and widespread of species to the less well-known, and from leaves and berries to saps, seeds, seaweeds, mosses and wood. Learn how to begin or extend a repertoire of wild foods and materials that can be used as dyes, remedies and around the home.

Cities place enormous pressures on freshwater quality and availability because they are often located some distance from the water sources needed by their populations. This fact compels planners to build infrastructure to divert water from increasingly distant outlying rural areas, thus disrupting their social fabric and environment. In addition, increasing urbanization due to population growth, economic change, and sprawl places huge burdens upon the institutions, as well as the infrastructure, that deliver, protect, and treat urban water. This book assesses the challenges facing the world's cities in providing reliable, safe, and plentiful supplies through infrastructural, economic, legal, and political strategies. The book considers engineering, social science, and built environment issues, with close examination of experiences in California and Australia, and their global implications. It addresses urban stream syndrome and related issues' and includes historical as well as contemporary insights into water sustainability in cities. Conservation, wastewater re-use, green infrastructure innovations, and the water energy nexus from the vantage point of urban water management are discussed in depth. The authors conclude that while throughout history cities have faced the twin challenges of too much - or too little - water at inopportune times, the impact of climate extremes on cities makes low-impact developments especially relevant. This comprehensive and timely assessment of the world's urban water-sustainability challenges will be of great interest to both students and academics in the field as well as urban water professionals and decision-makers. With contributions from Stanley B. Grant, Ashmita Sengupta, Lindsey Stuvick, Neeta Bijoor, Michael Sahimi, Meenakshi Arora, Vincent Pettigrove and Kristal Burry

The triple bottom line has become the standard modus operandi for assessing the sustainability of financial markets, industries, institutions and corporations. This Research Handbook provides the most recent developments, current practices and new initiatives related to sustainable finance and impact investing. In doing so, it demonstrates how the triple bottom line principle can be used to design sustainable strategies for firms, markets and the economy as a whole. The Handbook covers aspects of socially responsible investment, finance and sustainable development, corporate socially responsible banking, green bonds and sustainable financial instruments. Comprising 20 topical chapters from experts in the field, this Handbook is a comprehensive investigation of financial services and products that help cope with sustainable investing and climate risk management. Chapters discuss the role of regulation framework in guaranteeing the stability and resilience of financial markets and offer insight into governance issues including the management of organizational risks, CSR culture, and social-impact investing culture. An essential reference for scholars and students, the multidisciplinary approach covers business, finance, accounting, management and entrepreneurship. Practitioners such as financial analysts, rating agencies and regulators will also find this an accessible read for exploring the possibilities the triple bottom line principle can provide. Contributors include: M. Amidu, W.R. Ang, M. Ariff, F. Aubert, H. Bassan, F. Bazzana, K. Berensmann, N. Boubakri, E. Broccardo, F. Dafe, F. de Mariz, K. Delchet-Cochet, M. Dempsey, G.N. Dong, K.U. Ehigiamusoe, J. Fouilloux, R. Gabriele, J.-F. Gajewski, J. Grira, K. Gupta, H. Issahaku, L. Kermiche, H.H. Lean, K.T. Liaw, N. Lindenberg, J.R. Mason, M. Mazzuca, R. McIver, C. Nitsche, G. Porino, J.M. Puaschunder, J.R.F. Savoia, M. Schroeder, V. Tankoyeva, J.-L. Viviani, L.-C. Vo, O. Weber, A. Zarei

Innovatively rethinking the discipline of political economy, Fred P. Gale builds on a range of contemporary examples to develop a pluralistic conception of sustainability value that underpins sustainable development. He identifies why current approaches are having no meaningful impact and unifies diverse perspectives into one integrative approach. This definitive work argues that sustainability value?s realization requires a complete rethink of the way firms and polities are governed, challenging the idea that preferences are rational. Treating sustainability value as supervening on four other elemental economic values, the book illustrates how '?tetravaluation?' is being partially realized at the level of the firm and the state. With vast differences in institutional requirements across conventional liberal, nationalist and socialist frameworks, Gale implores political economy to abandon its monistic modernist legacy and embrace the pluralistic, reflexive and interdisciplinary standpoint that sustainability demands. With striking implications for existing political, economic and cultural institutions, Gale offers a new perspective on generating better policy outcomes for public policy professionals and sustainability practitioners. This book is a must-read for public policy theorists, political and ecological economists, and environmental policy researchers, as Gale challenges the conventional ideas linked to the functioning of liberal democracy and explores the future of political economic thought.

This timely book documents and analyses the seriousness of growing national inequality in different regions around the world. It argues that the treatment of inequality in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is wholly insufficient due to their failure to recognise the growing difference between the income of work and the income of capital and the super rich, and the strain this places on a country's social fabric. Sustainable Development Goals and Income Inequality provides a critical view on how inequality is dealt with in the process of setting global goals. It reviews the development of inequality globally and the various processes leading up to formulation of the SDGs. With chapters from top researchers on inequality and development economics it provides a strong and unique intellectual basis for a more prominent treatment of inequality in the follow up process to the SDGs. Combining a global perspective and in-depth regional analysis, this book will be of interest to students and academics in sustainable development, social policy and development economics. Contributors include: T. Addison, A. Cornia, P. Edward, R. Jolly, M. Luebker, D. Nayyar, A. Sumner, P.A.G. van Bergeijk, R. van der Hoeven, J. Vandemoortele, R. Vos

Innovatively rethinking the discipline of political economy, Fred P. Gale builds on a range of contemporary examples to develop a pluralistic conception of sustainability value that underpins sustainable development. He identifies why current approaches are having no meaningful impact and unifies diverse perspectives into one integrative approach. This definitive work argues that sustainability value?s realization requires a complete rethink of the way firms and polities are governed, challenging the idea that preferences are rational. Treating sustainability value as supervening on four other elemental economic values, the book illustrates how '?tetravaluation?' is being partially realized at the level of the firm and the state. With vast differences in institutional requirements across conventional liberal, nationalist and socialist frameworks, Gale implores political economy to abandon its monistic modernist legacy and embrace the pluralistic, reflexive and interdisciplinary standpoint that sustainability demands. With striking implications for existing political, economic and cultural institutions, Gale offers a new perspective on generating better policy outcomes for public policy professionals and sustainability practitioners. This book is a must-read for public policy theorists, political and ecological economists, and environmental policy researchers, as Gale challenges the conventional ideas linked to the functioning of liberal democracy and explores the future of political economic thought.

The European Union's renewable energy policy is one of the most ambitious attempts to facilitate a transition towards more sustainable energy systems. This book provides a comprehensive guide to the policy and its implementation. It contains key case studies for understanding how member states have shaped the policy, how the EU has affected the policies of its member states and how renewable energy policies have diffused horizontally. An analysis of its external dimension is also included. This remarkable guide is the first comprehensive attempt to shed light on the complex dynamics of renewable energy promotion in the European multilevel system. Theoretically driven, the study employs Europeanization as an analytical framework for assessing policy change, both at the EU level and in the member states, and compares the development of renewable energy policies in the electricity and transport sectors from the 1980s to the present. Comprising contributions from leading scholars, the book is an indispensible guide for academics, researchers and students interested in EU energy and climate policies in general and EU renewable energy policy specifically, as well as practitioners and stakeholders involved in renewable energy policy and climate protection. Contributors include: A. Ancygier, M. Bechberger, P. Bocquillon, S. Davidescu, L. Di Lucia, M.R. Di Nucci, H. Dyrhauge, G. Escribano, A. Evrard, J. Fairbrass, R. Fernandez, B. Hirschl, R. Hiteva, T. Hoppe, K. Jankowska, H. Joergens, T. Maltby, D. Ohlhorst, E. OEller, D. Russolillo, I. Solorio, E. van Bueren, T. Vogelpohl

Ben Raskin's wide-ranging work in varied locations makes The Woodchip Handbook a really useful overview of the possibilities afforded by woodchip. Charles Dowding, author of Charles Dowding's No Dig Gardening The first and only complete guide to sourcing and using woodchip - an abundant, inexpensive and ecologically sustainable material - for savvy growers and landscapers at any scale, from farm to garden to greenhouse. The Woodchip Handbook is the essential guide to the many uses of woodchip both in regenerative agriculture and horticulture. Author Ben Raskin, Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry at the Soil Association, draws on his extensive practical experience using woodchip, provides the latest research from around the world and presents inspiring case studies from innovative farmers. The book explores and unlocks the tremendous potential of woodchip to enhance soil health and plant growth: As a natural mulch for weed suppression, temperature buffering and water conservation As a growing medium for propagating plants As a decomposing source of warmth for hotbeds in the greenhouse or hoop house As a carbon-rich compost ingredient that supports beneficial fungi and microorganisms As a powerful soil health booster when applied as small-sized ramial chipped wood As an ideal substrate for growing many kinds of edible or medicinal mushrooms As a sustainable, versatile and durable material for foot paths and ornamental landscaping Some of these techniques, like mulching - or the renewable harvest potential from coppicing and pollarding trees - have been around forever. Yet there is always new science to be discovered, such as the role that salicylic acid from willow woodchip can play in preventing tree diseases or promoting livestock health when used as a bedding material. Whether you are a commercial grower or farmer, a permaculture practitioner or a serious home gardener producing your own fruit and vegetables, The Woodchip Handbook will show you how to get the most out of this readily available and renewable material. I did not know the world needed a whole book on woodchip, but from the first chapter I could not put this book down. Alys Fowler, author of The Edible Garden and The Thrifty Gardener

`Human rights and environmental sustainability have virtually unassailable legitimacy as objectives in the contemporary world. But do they work with or against each other? In this forensic dissection of the relationship between the two concepts, Kerri Woods raises the analytical bar to new heights. The result is a striking combination of intellectual sophistication and political sensitivity - not to be missed.' - Andrew Dobson, Keele University, UK Human Rights and Environmental Sustainability challenges the assumed harmony between human rights norms and the demands of environmental sustainability, by addressing conceptual, normative, and political questions surrounding the interaction between the two. What is gained and lost by environmental theorists and activists adopting the language and institutions of human rights? Is there coherence or tension between the values of human rights and environmental sustainability? Is the idea of environmental human rights plausible, and defensible? Whereas previous studies have considered the interface between human rights and environmental sustainability on an empirical level, this pioneering book engages the theoretical and philosophical issues at stake. Given the significant environmental challenges we face, and the dominance of human rights as a normative framework, these concerns demand our attention. This timely work will appeal to scholars in the fields of environmental politics, philosophy, human rights theory and global or international ethics, as well as postgraduate students in environmental politics, and philosophy. Postgraduate students in human rights - particularly human rights theory - global or international ethics, and scholars working in environmental law or human rights law will also find this book invaluable.

The first edition of The Small-Scale Poultry Flock helped thousands of small-scale farmers and smallholders adopt a practical model for working with chickens and other domestic fowl based on natural systems. In this expanded and thoroughly revised edition, readers will find plenty of all-new material. Author Harvey Ussery introduces readers to his new favorite breed of chicken, Icelandics; describes how he manages his breeding flock using a clan mating system; presents detailed information on the use of trapnests and record-keeping spreadsheets for evaluating breeding hen performance; and provides step-by-step instructions for construction of an ingeniously designed mobile poultry shelter. Readers will also find fully updated information and tips on all aspects of flock management, including: growing (and sourcing) feed on a small scale cultivating earthworms and grubs as high-protein poultry feed brooding (and breeding) at home implementing manure management using electric net fencing for ranging flocks using poultry as insect and weed managers in the garden and orchard enlisting your chickens as garden tillers and compost-makers protecting the flock from predators keeping the flock healthy working with mother hens In The Small-Scale Poultry Flock, Revised Edition Ussery presents a sustainable and ecologically friendly model that can be adapted to a variety of scales. His advice and examples throughout the book will prove invaluable for beginner farmers, growers looking to incorporate poultry into their programme and experienced farmers looking to create a truly sustainable system.

In large parts of the world, the reduction in the viability of agriculture and rural areas is an escalating problem. Sustainable Land Management offers a contemporary overview of the strategies employed to cope with the marginalisation of agriculture, through analyses of case studies and regional trends in marginalisation.The authors argue that complexities and driving forces governing marginalisation are not always the same across nations and regions due to climate, geography, economics, legislation and political status. This book illustrates in what form these complexities exist, and how these unravel at the national and regional levels. As the need to understand and cope with marginalisation processes has developed, the concept of multi-functionality has also gained a vital place in the string of coping strategies. This work contributes essential knowledge for the development of marginalisation mitigation policy actions across the globe. Informative and well-documented, this book will appeal to those researching and working in the fields of agricultural and resource economics, rural geography, environmental governance and sustainable development.

In recent years our understanding of corporate sustainability has moved from exploitation to exploration, from corporate environmental management to sustainable entrepreneurship, and from efficiency to innovation. Yet current trends indicate the need for radical innovation via entrepreneurial start-ups or new ventures within existing corporations despite difficulties with the financing and marketing of such efforts. Presenting both conceptual and empirical research, this fascinating book addresses how we can combine environmental and social sustainability with economic sustainability in order to produce innovative new business models. The international cast of contributors addresses the wide range of issues in the balance between growth and environmental concerns. The first five chapters discuss various aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship. This is followed by two chapters that look at innovation within existing firms. Innovation is not successful until it finds a customer, so the two chapters that follow delve into the marketing aspects of business-to-consumer and business-to-business settings. The book closes with a broad discussion of the evolution and future of the research agenda into the intersection of sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship. Academics, students, business professionals, and NGOs will find this volume enlightening and useful.

This unique book examines the role of institutions in transport regulation within a sustainability and comparative Trans-Atlantic framework. With contributions from leading experts in the field, three areas of analysis are provided: barriers to implementation of reforms, regulatory issues and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). The discussion on barriers focuses on political and public acceptance, as well as equity and environmental justice. Regulatory reform analyses include comparative discussions of railroad and airline deregulation in North America and Europe which are complimented with analyses of EU integration and transport regulation for sustainability, transport pricing and inter country competition. Finally, infrastructure finance and evaluation frameworks for PPP form the topical focus for a comprehensive assessment of PPP within the transport sector. Scholars and advanced students in engineering, public policy, planning, policy and international business will find Institutions and Sustainable Transport of great interest, as will national and sub-national transport senior planners and policy advisors in Europe and North America, and analysts and strategic planners for logistics organizations.

This innovative book investigates the practical applications of sustainable development in the spirit of the Brundtland Report, paying special attention to water-stressed developing countries. Satoshi Kojima argues that the main objective of sustainable development is poverty alleviation within the present generation without destroying those ecosystems underpinning life support systems. The policy implications of such sustainable development policies are investigated with an original quantitative policy analysis framework. The book develops an innovative dynamic optimisation CGE model based on the Ramsey growth model but employs an imperfect foresight assumption and a decentralised setting in which the private agent and the government optimise their objective functions separately. The model also addresses trade-offs between rain-fed and irrigated agriculture, urban unemployment due to rural-urban migration and welfare costs of lack of safe water access. The model is calibrated and dynamically validated against Moroccan time-series data. Researchers in environmental, ecological and development economics will find this book of great interest. It will also appeal to researchers and scholars interested in water management and related issues.

Regulation is on the rise across the world as the state steps back from public ownership. However, as the authors highlight, the style of political delegation to regulatory authorities has not followed a uniform trajectory but rather institutional endowments, administrative traditions, market structure and business culture have all influenced the creation of regulatory authorities and implementation styles. Noting these variances, the focus of this book is to consider the impact of liberalisation and the introduction of new regulatory structures on three utility sectors - telecommunications, energy and the railways - using Germany and the UK as case studies. With regulation seeking to foster competition at the same time as also having to protect essential services, the authors investigate regulatory styles, costs of new regulatory functions and how firms in the new regulatory landscape access and influence regulatory authorities. The authors consider how EU pressures may hinder or help the functioning of new regulatory markets and the establishment of business-regulator relationships, as well as the broader policy implications for these new regulatory environments. The book also determines how regulatory authorities emerge and evolve under different state traditions and assesses, over time, the degree to which there is potential for convergence, divergence and continued differences as regulatory functions mature. This book will be warmly welcomed by researchers and academics of comparative public policy, politics and regulation. It will also appeal to policy makers and the business community in Europe.

'There are few scholarly books about climate change that take the issue of the distribution of its costs, and of the costs and benefits of its mitigation, as seriously as their absolute value. This is probably the best of those books that I have come across. Rigorously rooted in Gough's earlier work on theories of human need, the book is relentless in its pursuit of equity in respect of climate change and responses to it. Not everyone will agree with all its conclusions - for example that ''green capitalism merits the term contradiction'' - but they are unfailingly thought-provoking, as all good scholarship should be. Highly recommended.' - Paul Ekins, UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, UK 'Gough applies his trademark scholarship on universal human needs to the urgent question of social policy for the transition to a de-carbonised world. Based on a clear-eyed analysis of a wide swathe of the social science literature, and an eco-social political economy perspective, his approach is both pragmatic and deeply rooted in ethics and social justice. Highly recommended and suitable for teaching at all levels.' - Juliet B. Schor, Boston College This exceptional book considers how far catastrophic global warming can be averted in an economic system that is greedy for growth, without worsening deprivation and inequality. The satisfaction of human needs - as opposed to wants - is the only viable measure for negotiating trade-offs between climate change, capitalism and human wellbeing, now and in the future. The author critically examines the political economy of capitalism and offers a long-term, interdisciplinary analysis of the prospects for keeping the rise in global temperatures below two degrees, while also improving equity and social justice. A three-stage transition is proposed with useful practical policies. First, 'green growth': cut carbon emissions from production across the world. Second, 'recompose' patterns of consumption in the rich world, cutting high-energy luxuries in favour of low-energy routes to meeting basic needs. Third, because the first two are perilously insufficient, move towards an economy that flourishes without growth. Heat, Greed and Human Need is vital for researchers and students of the environment, public and social policy, economics, political theory and development studies. For those advocating political, social and environmental reform this book presents excellent practical eco-social policies to achieve both sustainable consumption and social justice.

Sustainable development and global climate change have figured prominently in scientific analysis and international policymaking since the early 1990s. This book formulates technology strategies that will lead to environmentally sustainable energy systems, based on an analysis of global climate change issues using the concept of sustainable development. The authors focus on environmentally compatible, long-term technology developments within the global energy system, while also considering aspects of economic and social sustainability. The authors analyze a large number of alternative scenarios and illustrate the differences between those that meet the criteria for sustainable development and those that do not. As a result of their analysis, they identify a variety of promising socio-economic and environmental development paths that are consistent with sustainable development. One sustainable-development scenario and its policy implications are then presented in detail from a technology change perspective. The authors propose ambitious targets for technology adoption that are judged to achieve the desired socio-economic and environmental goals. Although the optimal policy mix to pursue these targets is clearly country-specific, the authors suggest that energy-related R&D that leads to technology performance improvements and the promotion of technology adoption in niche markets are the policy options which will yield the most significant long-term benefits. Policymakers, economists and researchers working on sustainability, energy economics, and technology change and innovation will welcome this topical and highly readable book.

Sustainable Consumption is unique, not just in its inter-disciplinary and substantive subject matter (changing networks of utility consumption and production), but because it examines empirically the key theoretical debates underpinning the social sciences at the beginning of the 21st century. This book shifts the focus of sustainable consumption away from the individual consumer and their lifestyles, and examines how existing systems of provision constrain how people consume and how sustainability is conceived in popular and policy-related discourses. The authors address a number of relevant and topical issues including: the relationship between production and consumption, with a focus on how each sphere configures the other; the escalation of choice and the emergence of differentiation in service provision and lifestyle orientation; the constraints on consumption that are embedded both in systems of provision and in the collective routines of everyday life; and the differential capacities of states, public agencies, social movements and commercial companies to facilitate sustainable consumption. In tackling these issues, the book advances the sustainable consumption agenda by highlighting the ways in which socio-technical and market regulatory arrangements at the systemic level increase opportunities for the gradual re-orientation of consumption habits across social groups and over time. This book offers a comprehensive evaluation of sustainable consumption in the context of infrastructure provision. The interdisciplinary nature and rigorous analysis will make it essential reading for scholars, students and policymakers interested in sustainability, sociology, culture, consumption patterns and the environment.

Apart from food and raw materials, agriculture can also provide ancillary benefits such as landscapes, biodiversity, cultural heritage and thriving rural communities. This book offers a state-of-the-art overview of strategies for sustainable management practices and their implementation through the adoption of suitable instruments. Such practices aim to sustain and support the multiple functions provided by agriculture and natural resources in the rural countryside.The authors explore the value of alternative governance structures and examine the design of policy models and institutional mechanisms for a range of different countries and agricultural methods. The empirical results allow them to identify successful examples as well as recognize practices which have failed. They can then transfer positive policies to geographical areas or production systems where effective and efficient strategies for the sustainable management of natural resources are urgently needed. In doing so, the authors hope to improve the design, identification and implementation of appropriate policy instruments to help sustain the rural economy in the future. They also aim to strengthen the establishment of markets for nature which overcome institutional constraints. This timely new book explores emerging perspectives on multifunctionality in agriculture and the rural environment. It will be widely read by academics, researchers and policymakers with an interest in agricultural and resource economics, environmental governance and sustainable development.

This book is an original study of the challenge of implementing sustainable development in Western democracies. It highlights the obstacles which sustainable development presents for strategic governance and critically examines how these problems can best be overcome in a variety of different political contexts.The renowned international contributors, including leading policy experts, try to identify the forms of governance necessary to realize the functions of sustainable development. With the help of detailed case studies, they document and analyze specific governance mechanisms for pursuing and achieving this aim. They move on to offer clearly formulated conclusions on the relationship between the demands of sustainable development and the current norms and practices of Western democracy. The book also raises the fundamental question of whether change can ever be achieved if the overriding goal of development is not firmly stated as 'sustainability' rather than 'business as usual'. This book offers a balanced focus on the difficulties and successes of promoting sustainable development through strategic governance. It will be of particular relevance to those interested in the institutional mechanisms of governance and policy implementation. The book will also appeal to scholars and students of political science, organizational studies and business administration, and policymakers and NGOs directly involved in the task of implementing sustainable development.

This fourth edition of an enduring and popular book has been fully updated and revised, exploring the two opposing paradigms of sustainability in an insightful and accessible way. Eric Neumayer contends that central to the debate on sustainable development is the question of whether natural capital can be substituted by other forms of capital. Proponents of weak sustainability maintain that such substitutability is possible, whilst followers of strong sustainability regard natural capital as non-substitutable.The author examines the availability of natural resources for the production of consumption goods and the environmental consequences of economic growth. He identifies the critical forms of natural capital in need of preservation given risk, uncertainty and ignorance about the future and opportunity costs of preservation. He goes on to provide a critical discussion of measures of sustainability. Indicators of weak sustainability such as Genuine Savings and the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare - also known as the Genuine Progress Indicator - are analysed, as are indicators of strong sustainability, including ecological footprints, material flows and sustainability gaps. This book will prove essential reading for students, scholars and policymakers with an interest in ecological and environmental economics and sustainable development. Contents: Preface to the Fourth Edition 1. Introduction and Overview 2. Sustainable Development: Conceptual, Ethical and Paradigmatic Issues 3. Resources, the Environment and Economic Growth: Is Natural Capital Substitutable? 4. Preserving Natural Capital in a World of Risk, Uncertainty and Ignorance 5. Measuring Weak Sustainability 6. Measuring Strong Sustainability 7. Conclusions Appendix 1. How Present-value Maximisation Can Lead to Extinction Appendix 2. The Hotelling Rule and Ramsey Rule in a Simple General Equilibrium Model Appendix 3. The Hotelling Rule and the Ramsey Rule in a More Complex Model Bibliography Index