* THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * 'Another masterpiece from one of my favorite authors . . . If you want a brief but thorough education in numeric thinking about many of the fundamental forces that shape human life, this is the book to read. It's a tour de force' BILL GATES __________ We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check - because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts. In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see, for example, that globalization isn't inevitable and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, making their complete and rapid elimination unlikely. Drawing on the latest science and tackling sources of misinformation head on - from Yuval Noah Harari to Noam Chomsky - ultimately Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? __________ 'Very informative and eye-opening in many ways' HA-JOON CHANG, author of 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism 'If you are anxious about the future, and infuriated that we aren't doing enough about it, please read this book' PAUL COLLIER, author of The Future of Capitalism

This provocative new book presents the results of twenty years of research on deforestation in the Amazon. By carefully observing the changing character of human settlements and their association with deforestation over such a prolonged period, the author is able to reject much of the 'perceived wisdom'. He skillfully dissects various models of deforestation and provides hard evidence on what is myth and what is reality. The book begins by challenging a hypothesis used by many scholars to explain deforestation. The 'turnover hypothesis' states that small farmers 'cause' deforestation by moving rapidly across newly forested land in an effort to make a living. Dr. Campari argues that in reality the process is far more complex. He reveals that it is actually the larger farms who are the main culprits of deforestation and that, in comparison, the impact of small farmers is marginal. He also challenges the belief that current deforestation, as in the past, is the result of distortionary government policies. The author proves that deforestation continues today because existing policies are based on outdated assumptions of regional development. He goes on to discuss the policy implications of his important findings and identify possibilities for controlling deforestation in the future. This is one of the few studies that accurately documents the process of deforestation in the Amazon. Researchers, academics and policymakers with an interest in environmental policy and natural resource management will appreciate the new and updated information and fresh policy ideas found in this volume.

The world needs to turn away from fossil fuels and use clean, renewable sources of energy as soon as we can. Failure to do so will cause catastrophic climate damage sooner than you might think, leading to loss of biodiversity and economic and political instability. But all is not lost! We still have time to save the planet without resorting to 'miracle' technologies. We need to wave goodbye to outdated technologies, such as natural gas and carbon capture, and repurpose the technologies that we already have at our disposal. We can use existing technologies to harness, store, and transmit energy from wind, water, and solar sources to ensure reliable electricity, heat supplies, and energy security. Find out what you can do to improve the health, climate, and economic state of our planet. Together, we can solve the climate crisis, eliminate air pollution and safely secure energy supplies for everyone.

This important text develops an institutional response to the core issues raised in public policy making and develops a distinct understanding of the role of institutions, not least in the study of environmental problems. It questions: how are conflicting interests shaped and taken into account in policy making? How should they be accounted for? What motivates the behaviour of firms and individuals, and how is it possible to change these motivations to produce the favoured common outcomes? The author addresses these questions by integrating elements from classical institutional economics, neoclassical economics, sociology and ecological economics. He argues that public policy in general, and environmental policy in particular, are best examined from an institutional perspective. In this way the author presents a distinct and consistent alternative to standard neoclassical economics for students and scholars who are interested in an institutional understanding of environmental policy making. The book is written in a clear and accessible style with boxes and figures to help explain the issues and, as such, would be an ideal alternative or supplement to the standard environmental economics texts.

This important volume presents a selection of influential articles written by leading scholars whose research is seminal in the development of environmental sociology. The contributors take the discussions of the environmental social sciences into new domains, for example genetics and 'de-materialisation', as well as suggesting new conceptual approaches to familiar problems, such as those of globalisation, scientific uncertainty and environmental citizenship. This outstanding collection, which is a fully up to date companion to the title The Sociology of the Environment, published in 1995, represents a landmark in a field of academic research that is increasingly important for wider policy questions. The volume will be useful to all those interested in environmental issues.

This major annual publication provides a state-of-the-art survey of contemporary research on environmental and resource economics by some of the leading experts in the field. The critical issues addressed in this year's volume include: * contingent valuation * environmental policy, technological change and economic growth * land use decisions and policy * sustainability indicators * value transfer and environmental policy * joint implementation in climate change policy * environmentally harmful subsidies.

'Eco-friendly' variants are rapidly gaining market share in many industries such as food, textiles, furniture, detergents and paints, automobiles, electrical appliances and domestic energy. These markets usually exhibit environmental differentiation, where consumers differ in their willingness to pay for the environmental attributes of a product. Building on the existing literature, this novel book provides a comprehensive analysis of firm strategy and environmental policy making in these types of 'green' markets. The author introduces the model of an environmentally differentiated duopoly, in order to explicitly analyse the strategic interaction within such a market. He studies in detail the effects of environmental product standards, eco-labels, 'green' R&D subsidies and environmental taxation on firm behaviour, welfare and emissions. Non-technical sections providing the empirical context expertly complement the formal theoretical analysis of environmental policy making. The author goes on to present important new conclusions for environmental policy and an agenda for future research. The Greening of Markets will be of immense interest to students and academics of environmental economics and applied industrial organisation, as well as policy makers and environmental managers.

Although there is a huge demand for accurate analysis of environmental policy outcomes in both the academic and policy-making communities, there is currently very little theoretical research on this issue. This ambitious book redresses the balance by constructing a new theoretical framework at the crossroads between economics and political science to account for the effectiveness of environmental governance. Drawing on insights from new institutional economics, environmental economics, collective action theory and social capital theory, the author analyses how policy outcomes are influenced by institutional factors that constrain and empower the target groups of environmental regulation. This is the first attempt towards a general theoretical treatise of voluntary environmental agreements, based on a dual institutionalist approach that allows for comparisons between environmental taxes and agreements. The author systematically compares the performance of the radically different CO2 policy strategies of Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands - non-intervention, earmarked CO2 taxes and energy agreements. From this unique cross-national study, it is concluded that CO2 taxes are generally more effective than voluntary energy agreements which, if practised in specific institutional settings, will outperform laissez-faire policy alternatives. This book will be required reading for environmental economists, political scientists and climate change researchers. It will also provide policymakers with useful empirical evidence and advice on how to design voluntary environmental agreements and green taxes to maximize environmental benefits.

In the current era of globalisation, national governments are increasingly exposed to international influences which can present many new constraints and opportunities for domestic environmental policies. This comprehensive Handbook pushes the frontiers of theoretical and empirical knowledge, and provides a state-of-the-art examination of the critical effects of globalisation on environmental governance. Following a comprehensive introduction by the editors, the expert contributors analyse key concepts and recent developments in themes such as national regimes, types of environmental goods, trade rules and environmental policies, eco-innovation policy, government-business cooperation, the role of citizen-consumers in environmental politics, and governance in developing countries. They also present various societal perspectives, including the role of businesses and non-governmental organisations. Eight original case studies address global influences on domestic environmental policies and government participation in international and supranational fora. The Handbook concludes with innovative and challenging views on the future role of national governments in global environmental governance. Including contributions from leading authorities in academia, government, and business, this comprehensive new Handbook provides an insightful overview of the powerful effect of globalisation on national environmental policy. The depth and scope of the work will ensure a broad and varied readership, including academics, students, and policymakers in the fields of governance, environmental politics and law, international relations, and political science.

1. Introduces students to current and emerging environmental hazards to human and related ecosystem health. 2. Explains detrimental policy changes of existing policies and recently developed policies that impact the health of the environment and that of communities. 3. Presents a perspective for global sources of pollution and how international actions have emerged for control of environmental hazards such as climate change and global air pollution. 4. Includes foundation lectures, case studies, and practice questions to help create student-led discussions for both in-class and homework assignments. 5. Describes the integrated One Health concept and critically examines the interconnectedness of human- and ecosystem health. 6. Written by environmental health experts with a long teaching career on policy and public health.

Technological change plays a crucial role in realizing energy efficiency improvements and, therefore, in ameliorating the conflict between economic growth and environmental quality. However, the diffusion of new technologies can prove a costly and lengthy process, meaning that many firms do not invest in best-practice technologies. The author offers important new explanations for this energy-efficiency paradox. This volume contributes to a better understanding of the interplay between economic growth, energy use and technological change, with particular emphasis on the adoption and diffusion of energy-saving technologies. In the theoretical section, the author examines how several characteristics of technological change and environmental policy affect the dynamics of technology choice. He demonstrates how technological complementarity, learning processes and uncertainty can help explain why the innovation and diffusion of new technologies is such a protracted and complex procedure. The empirical section explores long-run trends in energy and labour productivity performance, as well as patterns of substitutability and technological change across a range of OECD countries. The book concludes by integrating the results in an applied policy model of economy-energy interaction. This book is unique in applying insights from different perspectives to the field of energy economics, and by focusing on the diffusion of energy-saving technologies rather than their innovation. It will be of immense value to academics and policymakers with an interest in energy economics, environmental economics and the interaction between economic growth and natural resources.

This important new book enhances our understanding of the dynamic interactions between economic activity, economic growth, pollution abatement and environmental policy. It addresses one main policy problem: how can the direct and indirect costs of environmental policy for multiple pollutants be properly assessed in an applied model? Using an original methodology, the author constructs a multi-sectoral dynamic applied general equilibrium model. This new integrated model greatly improves the empirical analysis of the dynamic reactions of economic agents to pollution control, explicitly taking into account the direct and indirect effects of abatement on the economy and the environment. The author goes on to apply the model to study the costs of various environmental policies including climate change, acidification, eutrophication, smog formation and the dispersion of fine dust. He finds that if environmental policies can be implemented simultaneously and in a cost-effective manner, the economic costs of these policies can be effectively limited through a combination of economic restructuring and adopting technical abatement measures. Modelling the Costs of Environmental Policy will prove essential and enlightening reading for scholars, students and researchers of environmental and resource economics, environmental policy and economic modelling.

'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.

Research on consumption from an environmental perspective has exploded since the late 1990s. This important new volume cuts across disciplines to present the latest research in the field. The book is divided into three parts, the first of which addresses the problems of consumption both as a concept and as an economic and social force with high environmental impact. In the second part, the authors try to explain consumption as an attempt by individuals to satisfy different types of needs whilst simultaneously being embedded in certain lifestyles and constrained by time and daily routines. The final section looks at how change towards less environmentally damaging consumption patterns can be achieved through national sustainability and consumer policy measures, as well as through community building and individual action. In accordance with the transdisciplinary nature of ecological economics, the original contributions emanate from a variety of different perspectives to reflect the diversity of research in this growing field. By seriously exploring the role of consumption within ecological economics, this fine book will provide invaluable reading for students and researchers interested in sustainable consumption, ecological economics and consumer research.

Paying the Carbon Price analyzes the practice of freely allocating permits in Emissions Trading Schemes (ETSs) and demonstrates how many heavy polluters participating in ETSs are not yet paying the full price of carbon. This innovative book provides a framework to assist policymakers in the design of transitional assistance measures that are both legally robust and will support the effectiveness of the ETSs whilst limiting negative impacts on international trade. Within the realm of international and comparative law, this book closes the gap between the legal frameworks of ETSs in practice, the economic research data and the doctrinal analysis of WTO law. These interesting insights and fresh ideas explore the connection between ETSs, the problems with free allocation of emission permits and the analysis of complex legal instruments. This accessible resource will be invaluable for those researching and teaching climate change law and policy, international trade law and environmental economics. It will also be a useful tool for policymakers, lawyers and economists.

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.

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.

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.

Regulating Shale Gas discusses the regulatory context of shale gas in the European Union and draws conclusions on the EU's broader approach towards the regulation of new technologies. Providing the first dedicated examination of the overall regulatory context of shale gas in the EU, Leonie Reins reveals how the EU's new constitutional setup after the Lisbon Treaty has complicated rather than facilitated the EU's quest for a common energy policy. Shale gas has already transformed the energy outlook in the United States, but despite high expectations, exploration has failed to take off fully in the EU. This book investigates the reasons for this failure, as well as other related developments impacting both energy and environmental law, by highlighting the essential elements of coherent regulation of technologies. It further analyses other cross-cutting issues relating to the environmental and energy supply security challenges and offers insights into the regulation of the different sectors and the most topical developments. The regulation of shale gas is set to become an increasingly important issue, receiving attention of energy and environmental legal scholars, politicians and industry worldwide. This book will also appeal to legal practitioners seeking expertise in the law and policy of shale gas extraction in the EU.

The Antarctic and Southern Ocean are hotspots for contemporary endeavours to oversee 'the last frontier' of the Earth. The Handbook on the Politics of Antarctica offers a wide-ranging and comprehensive overview of the governance, geopolitics, international law, cultural studies and history of the region. Written by leading experts, the Handbook brings together the very best interdisciplinary social science and humanities scholarship on the Antarctic and Southern Ocean, offering a definitive statement on why the world's only uninhabited continent attracts global attention in terms of science, politics and natural resources - and what can be done to manage it. Four sections take readers from the earliest human encounters to contemporary resource exploitation and climate change through thematic and critical analyses: the exploration, exploitation and mapping of Antarctica; its emergence as an object of global interest; human behaviour and environmental change in response to managerial interventions; and a contemplation of possible futures for Antarctica. All topics are covered in accessible yet authoritative contributions. Specialist readers in polar regions, public international law, geography, geopolitics and international relations will appreciate this uniquely comprehensive and up-to-date examination of politics in and around Antarctica, as will scholars with interest in areas beyond national jurisdiction, peace/co-operation studies and the interface between public policy and science. Contributors include: A.E. Abdenur, D.G. Ainley, A. Antonello, D. Avango, P.J. Beck, M. Benwell, L.E. Bloom, A.-M. Brady, C. Braun, N. Brazell, C. Brooks, I. Cardone, S.L. Chown, C. Collis, R. Davis, K. Dodds, A. Elzinga, F. Francioni, M. Haward, A.D. Hemmings, F. Hertel, A. Howkins, J. Jabour, S. Kaye, R.D. Launius, E. Leane, D. Liggett, H. Nielsen, E. Nyman, O. Olsson, H. OEsterblom, H.-U. Peter, P. Roberts, R. Roura, J.F. Salazar, D. Sampaio, S.V. Scott, T. Stephens, E. Stewart, L.-M. van der Watt, N. Vanstappen, P. Vigni, R. Wolfrum, J. Wouters, O. Young

This memorial collection of papers authored and co-authored by Ian Langford represents some of the most thoughtful and innovative contributions to the literature regarding the holistic analysis of environmental and health risk issues. It provides important foundations for the development of a mixed methodological approach to addressing such issues. These carefully chosen papers span a number of disciplines, including statistics, environmental risk analysis, human geography and economics and represent the diversity, innovation and analytical rigour of Ian Langford's writing.

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

This major annual publication provides a state-of-the-art survey of contemporary research on environmental and resource economics by some of the leading experts in the field. The critical issues addressed in this year's volume include: * contingent valuation * environmental policy, technological change and economic growth * land use decisions and policy * sustainability indicators * value transfer and environmental policy * joint implementation in climate change policy * environmentally harmful subsidies.