Overview
- Analyzes how we can transition to a low-carbon society
- Demonstrates that development pathways exist that do not mirror the carbon intensive trajectories of the global North
- Exposes the political-economic systems that favour the status quo
Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series (IPES)
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About this book
This book addresses the global need to transition to a low-carbon society and economy by 2050. The authors interrogate the dominant frames used for understanding this challenge and the predominant policy approaches for achieving it. Highlighting the techno-optimism that informs our current understanding and policy options, Kirby and O’Mahony draw on the lessons of international development to situate the transition within a political economy framework. Assisted by thinking on future scenarios, they critically examine the range of pathways being implemented by both developed and developing countries, identifying the prevailing forms of climate capitalism led by technology. Based on evidence that this is inadequate to achieve a low-carbon and sustainable society, the authors identify an alternative approach. This advance emerges from community initiatives, discussions on postcapitalism and debates about wellbeing and degrowth. The re-positioning of society and environment at thecore of development can be labelled “ecosocialism” – a concept which must be tempered against the conditions created by Trumpism and Brexit.
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Keywords
- Population
- Energy
- GHG emissions
- 2050
- Governance
- Technology
- Low-Carbon Transition
- Techno-Optimism
- Political Economy
- Climate change policy
- International development
- Developing countries
- Global South
- Sustainability
- Wellbeing
- Future scenarios
- Degrowth
- Ecosocialism
- Low-carbon society
- Low-carbon economy
- climate change
Table of contents (10 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Development Pathways and the Low-Carbon Future
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Front Matter
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Pathways in Developed and Developing Countries
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Front Matter
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Pathways to a Low-Carbon Future
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Reviews
“In a clear and powerful argument, grounded in evidence from a wide range of sources, this book will persuade you that only eco-socialism can solve the climate crisis and ensure our survival.” (Professor Jacklyn Cock, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa)
“Solutions to the wicked problem of climate change go far beyond technological innovations and require economic and social transformation. Kirby and O’Mahony provide a concise account of the dilemma and a guide to some ways forward.” (Professor Max Koch, Lund University, Sweden, author of Capitalism and Climate Change, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)
“This book perceives the climate crisis as embedded in the overarching crisis of modernity, drawing attention to the deep drivers threatening our future, such as dominant values, norms, and institutions.” (Paul Raskin, President of the Tellus Institute, USA)
“This book could not be more timely. It puts the political economy at centre-stage, where it belongs. It links ‘low-carbon’ development with markets and political drivers, highlights the limits of technological responses, and the necessity and opportunity of political renewal.” (Corinne Le Quéré, University of East Anglia, UK)
“This book gives fresh insights into the political economy underpinning radical pathways to lowcarbon societies, with examples of successes.” (Terry Barker, University of Cambridge, UK)
Authors and Affiliations
About the authors
Peadar Kirby is Professor Emeritus of International Politics and Public Policy at the University of Limerick, Ireland. He has published widely on models of development, and on political economy. His latest book is Transitioning to a Post-Carbon Society: Degrowth, Austerity and Wellbeing, co-edited with Ernest Garcia and Mercedes Martinez-Iglesias (2017).
Tadhg O’Mahony is Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow in wellbeing and sustainability at the Finland Futures Research Centre at the University of Turku, Finland. He has published on a range of topics relating to climate change policy, sustainability, energy, wellbeing and future scenarios.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Political Economy of the Low-Carbon Transition
Book Subtitle: Pathways Beyond Techno-Optimism
Authors: Peadar Kirby, Tadhg O’Mahony
Series Title: International Political Economy Series
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62554-6
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-62553-9Published: 16 November 2017
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-87340-4Published: 24 August 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-62554-6Published: 26 October 2017
Series ISSN: 2662-2483
Series E-ISSN: 2662-2491
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIX, 303
Number of Illustrations: 6 illustrations in colour
Topics: International Political Economy, Development and Social Change, Climate Change, Climate Change Management and Policy, Development Policy, Development and Sustainability