GCC 5008: Policy and Science of Global Environmental Change

This book presents pioneering work on a range of innovative practices, experiments, and ideas that are becoming an integral part of urban climate change governance in the 21st century. Theoretically, the book builds on nearly two decades of scholarships identifying the emergence of new urban actors, spaces and political dynamics in response to climate change priorities. However, this book further articulates and applies the concepts associated with urban climate change governance by bridging formerly disparate disciplines and approaches. Empirically, the chapters investigate new multi-level urban governance arrangements from around the world, and leverage the insights they provide for both theory and practice. Cities - both as political and material entities - are increasingly playing a critical role in shaping the trajectory and impacts of climate change action. However, their policy, planning, and governance responses to climate change are fraught with tension and contradictions.

This book provides important insight on a range of issues focused on three themes; what new climate change information is being developed, how that knowledge is communicated and how it can be usefully applied across international, regional and local scales. There is increasing international investment and interest to develop and communicate updated climate change information to promote effective action. As change accelerates and planetary boundaries are crossed this information becomes particularly relevant to guide decisions and support both proactive adaptation and mitigation strategies. Developing new information addresses innovations in producing interdisciplinary climate change knowledge and overcoming issues of data quality, access and availability. This book examines effective information systems to guide decision-making for immediate and future action. Cases studies in developed and developing countries illustrate how climate change information promotes immediate and future actions across a range of sectors.

The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change marked a reset of global climate policy, but was jeopardised by the partisan nature of the debates. In this unique overview, Aynsley Kellow suggests that global policy on climate change should have started with the Paris Agreement, and that almost a quarter of a century has been wasted following the wrong path.Looking critically at the interplay between interests, science, and global norms, Negotiating Climate Change shows how the initial selection of the wrong 'metapolicy' hindered the development of global climate policy. Examining key debates, and the problems which arose from them, Kellow exposes the failings of the Kyoto Process and the subsequent issues raised in the negotiations culminating in the Paris Agreement.Providing analysis of the failings of past decades as well as looking towards the future of climate policy, this book will be invaluable to advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of global environmental politics, environmental governance and international relations, as well as for policy workers in agencies involved in climate policy.

PART I: OVERVIEW: WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE BIOLOGY?; ONE: Changing the Biosphere; TWO: What Is Climate Change?; PART II: WHAT CHANGES ARE WE OBSERVING?; THREE: Range and Abundance Changes; Case Study 1: The Bering Sea and Climate Change; FOUR: Phenological Dynamics in Pollinator-Plant Associations Related to Climate Change; FIVE: Coral Reefs: Megadiversity Meets Unprecedented Environmental Change; SIX: Genetic Signatures of Historical and Contemporary Responses to Climate Change

Climate justice requires sharing the burdens and benefits of climate change and its resolution equitably and fairly. It brings together justice between generations and justice within generations. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals summit in September 2015, and the Conference of Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris in December 2015, brought climate justice center stage in global discussions. In the run up to Paris, Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, instituted the Climate Justice Dialogue. The editors of this volume, an economist and a philosopher, served on the High Level Advisory Committee of the Climate Justice Dialogue. They noted the overlap and mutual enforcement between the economic and philosophical discourses on climate justice. But they also noted the great need for these strands to come together to support the public and policy discourse. This volume is the result.

The term "climate justice" began to gain traction in the late 1990s following a wide range of activities by social and environmental justice movements that emerged in response to the operations of the fossil fuel industry and, later, to what their members saw as the failed global climate governance model that became so transparent at COP15 in Copenhagen. The term continues to gain momentum in discussions around sustainable development, climate change, mitigation and adaptation, and has been slowly making its way into the world of international and national policy. However, the connections between these remain unestablished. Addressing the need for a comprehensive and integrated reference compendium, The Routledge Handbook of Climate Justice provides students, academics and professionals with a valuable insight into this fast-growing field. Drawing together a multidisciplinary range of authors from the Global North and South, this Handbook addresses some of the most salient topics in current climate justice research, including just transition, urban climate justice and public engagement, in addition to the field's more traditional focus on gender, international governance and climate ethics. With an emphasis on facilitating learning based on cutting-edge specialised climate justice research and application, each chapter draws from the most recent sources, real-world best practices and tutored reflections on the strategic dimensions of climate justice and its related disciplines. The Routledge Handbook of Climate Justice will be essential reading for students and scholars, as well as being a vital reference tool for those practically engaged in the field.

Robert Mendelsohn, Yale University: Curbing greenhouse gases is one of the most challenging issues we face. While the benefits are potentially huge, developing policies to keep costs down is urgent. Goulder and Hafstead's well-written and accessible book carefully explains the issue and evaluates the main policy proposals. It is a must read for anyone interested in the details of climate mitigation. I strongly recommend it. Jerry Taylor, Niskanen Center: How costly will it be for the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Economists Larry Goulder and Marc Hafstead--two of the top practitioners in the field--walk us knowledgeably through the various options and show how climate action can produce net benefits to society without jeopardizing the economy. Must reading for politicians, policy analysts, and climate activists. Robert N. Stavins, Harvard University: This important book by two leading authorities on the economics of climate change policy provides a rigorous assessment of the benefits and costs of alternative U.S. climate change policies, including a carbon tax, a cap-and-trade program, a clean energy standard, and an increase in federal gasoline taxes. This dispassionate analysis is particularly valuable and important--for scholars, policy makers, and the general public. George P. Shultz, Stanford University: Climate change policy options need to be identified and analyzed with care and a sense of the future, just as Larry Goulder and Marc Hafstead have done in this important book. Maureen Cropper, University of Maryland: Confronting the Climate Challenge is a rigorous and insightful analysis of policies to reduce CO2 emissions in the United States, written by the top experts in the field. It should be read by anyone who is interested in taking action to reduce the threat of climate change. Sheldon Whitehouse, United States Senator from Rhode Island: Goulder and Hafstead's thorough and thoughtful examination of some of our most promising climate policy options shows that how we implement change matters as much as the changes we make. This book will be a useful roadmap as we work to reduce the emissions driving the disruption of our climate. William Nordhaus, Yale University: This book shows brilliantly how the United States can tackle the climate challenge effectively, using the fiscal system to slow climate change while protecting those who are vulnerable to the costs of a rapid transformation of the energy system.

"The Routledge Handbook of Grassroots Climate Activism introduces contemporary forms of grassroots climate activism from around the world through the lenses of a variety of academic disciplines, methodologies, and perspectives. Focusing on bottom-up case studies, it showcases innovative and creative approaches, as well as the knowledge of those working towards swift decarbonisation, just transitions, and climate justice. Grassroots climate activism presents a rich body of material to be studied not only by anthropologists, sociologists, geographers, and political scientists, but also by scholars in the humanities and the creative arts. This timely handbook explores climate activism across six continents, and it provides perspectives from climate activists themselves. The authors interrogate a range of key questions: what forms of mobilisation, organisation, and practice constitute grassroots climate activism, and how have these changed over the last decade? What are the boundaries of the climate movement and how does it interact with, or differ from, other social movements? How do activists engage with the moral dimensions of the climate crisis? How do grassroots engagements with climate struggles give shape to plural, site-specific, but nonetheless interconnected, forms of climate activism? What tools do climate activists use to create functioning and effective local, national, and transnational networks? How has climate activism been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic? What is the relationship between critical scholarship and climate activism? What methodologies are particularly effective for studying climate activism, and why?

"This timely and urgent collection brings together cutting-edge interdisciplinary scholarship and ideas from around the world to present critical examinations of climate coloniality. Confronting Climate Coloniality exposes how legacies of colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism co-produce and exacerbate the climate crisis, create disproportionate impacts on those who contributed the least to climate change, and influence global and local responses. Climate coloniality is perpetuated through processes of neoliberalism, racial capitalism, development interventions, economic growth models, media, and education. Confronting climate coloniality entails decolonizing climate discourses and governance, challenging the dominant framings and policies, interrogating material, geopolitical, and institutional arrangements for tackling the climate crisis, and centering Global South and Indigenous knowledge, experiences, strategies, and solutions. Confronting Climate Coloniality: Decolonizing Pathways for Climate Justice provides critical insights and strategies for transformative action and fosters deeper understandings of the structural injustices entangled with climate change in governance, framings, policies, responses, and praxis.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, innovation, and sustainability, there is a growing need to explore advanced research trends that shape our understanding and implementation of solutions for a sustainable future. Emerging fields such as renewable energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and circular economy principles are at the forefront of this exploration, driving transformative changes across industries. Understanding these trends allows us to create resilient solutions to promote economic growth, environmental protection, and social well-being. This commitment to innovation and sustainability will be essential for fostering a balanced and prosperous future. Advanced Research Trends in Sustainable Solutions, Data Analytics, and Security introduces new research trends that could change how we perceive, use, and integrate technology in a rapidly changing world. It advances the understanding of how technology and innovation can contribute to sustainable development, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations that transcend traditional boundaries, and inspiring actionable initiatives that address global challenges. Covering topics such as artificial intelligence (AI), green infrastructure, and sustainable tourism, this book is an excellent resource for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, academicians, and more.