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The Politics of Climate Change, 2nd Edition

ISBN: 978-0-745-65515-4

September 2011

Polity

272 pages

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Description

"A landmark study in the struggle to contain climate change, the greatest challenge of our era. I urge everyone to read it."
—Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States of America

Since it first appeared, this book has achieved a classic status. Reprinted many times since its publication, it remains the only work that looks in detail at the political issues posed by global warming. This new edition has been thoroughly updated and provides a state-of-the-art discussion of the most formidable challenge humanity faces this century.

If climate change goes unchecked, the consequences are likely to be catastrophic for human life on earth. Yet for most people and for many policy-makers too, it tends to be a back-of-the-mind issue. We recognize its importance and even its urgency, but for the most part it is swamped by more immediate concerns.

Political action and intervention on local, national and international levels are going to have a decisive effect on whether or not we can limit global warming as well as how we adapt to that already occurring. However, at the moment, argues Giddens, we do not have a systematic politics of climate change. Politics-as-usual won't allow us to deal with the problems we face, while the recipes of the main challenger to orthodox politics, the green movement, are flawed at source. Giddens introduces a range of new concepts and proposals to fill in the gap, and examines in depth the connections between climate change and energy security.

About the Author
Anthony Giddens is the former director of the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is now a member of the House of Lords. His many books include The Third Way and Europe in the Global Age.
New to Edition
Thoroughly revised throughout and updated
Features
  • A fully revised and updated edition of this key book on the politics of climate change, by one of the world's leading social thinkers.
  • This is the first book to develop a systematic politics of climate change.
  • Offers new concepts and practical proposals for coping with a fundamental issue of our time.
  • This updated edition of a classic text will appeal to everyone concerned about how we can cope with what amounts to a crisis for our civilization.