environmental justice | Re-public: re-imagining democracy

Introduction: Is there something “left” to say about climate change?

When the politics of climate change is brought once again on the table, an understandable reaction would be that this is yet another –perhaps the- topical issue where ‘too much is said and relatively little done’. It is then admittedly rather difficult to hold that a collection of essays has something to add in the debate. The globalization of environmental issues, including climate change, is today part of the mainstream political agenda. A seeming consensus has been reached by most progressive forces that the environmental crisis is primarily a political problem that requires solutions global in scope and their implementation at transnational, national and local levels. And yet, what seems to be lacking is the effectiveness of these solutions, or at least the fear is that current solutions fall short of the problem, that we are not currently doing anything near enough about global warming.

Bill McKibben – Out of the safety zone

As the Bush administration starts to pass from the scene and the contenders to succeed him speak with reasonable seriousness about carbon, the question for environmentalists is going to change from: “Are we doing anything about global warming?” to “Are we doing anything near enough about global warming?” Both of those are political questions — but the second one is also a scientific query, for the answer to it depends on knowing how much we need to do.

Dan Smith – Adapting to the threats of climate change

Climate change is upon us and its physical effects have started to unfold. In this interview, Dan Smith talks about the social and human consequences that are likely to ensue – particularly the risks of conflict and instability. He argues that adaptation to climate change is only going to work if it is closely related to development and also becomes an integral part of any peace process.

Larry Lohmann – The politics of climate change

Larry Lohmann is a scholar and activist who works with the Corner House, a research and solidarity NGO in the UK that supports democratic and community movements for environmental and social justice. In this interview he untangles for us the political contours shaping and being shaped by the climate change crisis, the contradictions of carbon trading, and the spaces from where we can expect more constructive approaches to emerge.

Peter Barnes – Towards a fair climate policy

Many economists (and others) from a wide range of political viewpoints are coming to support the idea of cap-and-dividend or tax-and-rebate as the most sensible way to address climate change. It’s important to note that the two approaches (cap or tax) are functionally equivalent. Both policies are intended (1) to raise the price of the carbon emissions that cause global warming, thereby discouraging those emissions and encouraging alternatives, and (2) to do so in a way that does not place the burden of adjustment disproportionately on the poor.

Philip Sarre – Environmental justice requires economic reform

Environmental change and global poverty are caused by the way the world economy works, which depends on the way it is governed. The limited success of international policy initiatives in pursuit of environmental protection and/or social justice results from the prioritisation of economic objectives, increasingly seen within a ‘free market’ framework.

Stephanie Posthumus – Framing French eco-difference: A brief overview

In Le Retour au contrat naturel (2000), French philosopher Michel Serres asserts that the Earth, a global object since we have been able to observe it remotely from space, has progressively become a global political subject, entering into international discussions because of such phenomena as climate change and ozone holes that demand action on an international scale.[1] Without denying the significance of Serres’s interpretation of the Earth as global subject nor the relevance of his concept of the natural contract, I want to explore some of the cultural differences that influence the way in which a group dialogues with the Earth. In this article, I will concentrate on French perceptions, understandings and discussions of the environment.

Vasilis Kostakis – The field of the commons and the universal income

Based on Peter Barnes’ ideas, developed intensely in his Capitalism 3.0 book, this article analyses the perspectives that emerge through the integration of the field of the natural commons into a political agenda against the environmental and financial abjection that humanity faces today.

page 1 2 ►

→ Special Issues

Dialogues ←

→ Projects

Tags