Confronting Climate Change: From Mitigation to Adaptation (The Policy and Practice of Governance)

"Essential reading…. This thoughtful book explains how we got into the climate crisis, reveals the evolution of adaptation as an objective of climate policy, and proposes a transformational pathway toward adaptation that is both democratic and just." ―Paul G. Harris, Education University of Hong Kong

How to cope with climate change? Observing that efforts to mitigate rising temperatures are falling disastrously short, John Barkdull argues that policy must shift toward adaptation and considers what this entails. As he assesses climate policies and politics since the landmark 1992 Rio conference, Barkdull explores approaches to transformational adaptation that will allow us to survive in a much warmer world.

CONTENTS: 

• The Challenge of Climate Change.
• The Turn to Adaptation.
• Maintaining the Global Status Quo.
• The Transformation Imperative.
• Adaptation and Capitalism.
• Defending Civilization as We Know It.
• Life on Hothouse Earth.

 

John Barkdull is professor emeritus of political science at Texas Tech University.