Introduction: Why and how to debate climate change; 1. Is climate change the most important challenge of our times?; PART I: What do we need to know?; 2. Is the concept of ‘tipping point’ helpful for describing and communicating possible climate futures?; 3. Should individual extreme weather events be attributed to human agency?; 4. Does climate change drive violence, conflict and human migration?; 5. Can the social cost of carbon be calculated?; PART II: What should we do?; 6. Are carbon markets the best way to address climate change?; 7. Should future investments in energy technology be limited exclusively to renewables?; 8. Is it necessary to research solar climate engineering as a possible backstop technology?; PART III: On what grounds should we base our actions?; 9. Is emphasising consensus in climate science helpful for policymaking?; 10. Do rich people rather than rich countries bear the greatest responsibility for climate change?; 11. Is climate change a human rights violation?; PART IV: Who should be the agents of change?; 12. Does successful emissions reduction lie in the hands of non-state rather than state actors?; 13. Is legal adjudication essential for enforcing ambitious climate change policies?; 14. Does the ‘Chinese model’ of environmental governance demonstrate to the world how to govern the climate?; 15. Are social media making constructive climate policymaking harder?
Mike Hulme is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Cambridge, UK, founding director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Reseach and Editor-in-Chief of the review journal WIREs Climate Change. He is the author of eight books on climate change, including Why We Disagree About Climate Change and Can Science Fix Climate Change?
'Responding to climate change requires that we engage with a host
of complex and interwoven ethical and political issues that reach
deep into the heart of values and cultures that are often diverse
and conflicting. Contemporary Climate Change Debates provides
unique insights into how and why we come to disagree about the ways
in which climate change can be resolved, and will be essential
reading for students grappling with these challenging questions.'
—Harriet Bulkeley, Professor of Geography, Durham University,
UK'With public debate over climate change frozen over "matters of
fact", Mike Hulme offers essays that debate both sides of "matters
of concern". The paired essays show reason on both sides of each
question. They show what a rational global debate about climate
change would actually look like. And they show that such a debate
may actually be possible. This is a unique and hopeful book, which
belongs in the library of all students and scholars of climate
change.' —Michael Dove, Margaret K. Musser Professor of Social
Ecology, Yale University, USA'Neither apocalyptic, nor passive
towards the most challenging problem for humanity, this book opens
a real international and interdisciplinary deliberation about
responses to climate change. Solving climate warming is more about
matters of concern, about different and shared responsibilities,
than it is about matters of fact and the mechanics of energy
transitions. Hulme’s book encompasses different aspects of the
ethical and political debates in a pluralistic way, and offers a
good basis for understanding argument and action in our polarized
democracies, especially for the younger generation.' —Bernard
Reber, Research Director (political sciences), CNRS, Sciences Po,
Paris, France'Hulme and the contributors to Contemporary Climate
Change Debates see climate change for what it really is: a
political problem, not a scientific one. The science is as certain
as it’s ever going to be. What students need is a framework for
understanding how their values—and the values of well-intentioned
others who disagree with them—attach to climate science to produce
policy. And that is precisely what this book provides.' —Lynda
Walsh, Associate Professor of English, University of Nevada,
USA'This collection of climate change debates constitutes a timely
contribution edited by Mike Hulme, one of the most renowned
scholars in climate research, who brings together the necessary
cross-disciplinary perspectives. Following up his seminal book Why
We Disagree About Climate Change, Hulme here undertakes the
innovative initiative of bringing in voices of both established and
emerging scholars, a very promising move for informative and
constructive dialogues.' —Kjersti Fløttum, Professor of
Linguistics, University of Bergen, Norway'At a time when climate
change denial has become a deliberate distraction by vested
interests rather than a good faith intellectual engagement, this
book offers a refreshing take on decision-making amidst complexity.
These are the climate change debates we need to have—not, "is it
happening?", but "what are we going to do about it?" Mike Hulme
brings together established and emerging scholarly voices in a
format that will engage students of many backgrounds.' —Lesley
Head, Professor of Geography, University of Melbourne,
Australia'These carefully designed exchanges by respected scholars
allow students to experience meaningful differences of thought and
to form their own judgements. Curated by Mike Hulme, a researcher
with world-class expertise in scientific and cultural dimensions of
climate change, there are no false debates or fake controversies
here. Instead, there are mature arguments over questions that will
shape future climate pathways. An invaluable classroom resource.'
—Willis Jenkins, Professor of Religious Studies, University of
Virginia, USA'The debates about climate change in this book go far
beyond the usual arguments over whether climate change is happening
to explore some of the key questions about how to study and
attribute change, impacts and costs; whether markets, renewables,
solar climate engineering and non-state actors provide the best
solutions; and how to address climate justice and communication. I
especially appreciate the depth of social science perspectives and
the effort to include many voices of women scholars. A terrific
resource for teaching, and for researchers wishing to broaden their
understanding of key contemporary topics in climate change.' —Diana
Livermann, Regent’s Professor of Geography and Development,
University of Arizona, USA'Studying climate change as a student can
be daunting. With such a vast array of different literature
available it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. This
volume does justice to the truly interdisciplinary nature of
climate change. Written in a tone appropriate for all students from
A-level upwards, and with extensive offerings of extra reading for
each chapter, Hulme’s book is an absolute necessity for those
seeking answers to the big questions of climate change. If only it
had been published while I was studying!' —Daisy Malton, geography
graduate student, University of Cambridge, UK
'Responding to climate change requires that we engage with a host
of complex and interwoven ethical and political issues that reach
deep into the heart of values and cultures that are often diverse
and conflicting. Contemporary Climate Change Debates provides
unique insights into how and why we come to disagree about the ways
in which climate change can be resolved, and will be essential
reading for students grappling with these challenging questions.'
—Harriet Bulkeley, Professor of Geography, Durham University,
UK'With public debate over climate change frozen over "matters of
fact", Mike Hulme offers essays that debate both sides of "matters
of concern". The paired essays show reason on both sides of each
question. They show what a rational global debate about climate
change would actually look like. And they show that such a debate
may actually be possible. This is a unique and hopeful book, which
belongs in the library of all students and scholars of climate
change.' —Michael Dove, Margaret K. Musser Professor of Social
Ecology, Yale University, USA'Neither apocalyptic, nor passive
towards the most challenging problem for humanity, this book opens
a real international and interdisciplinary deliberation about
responses to climate change. Solving climate warming is more about
matters of concern, about different and shared responsibilities,
than it is about matters of fact and the mechanics of energy
transitions. Hulme’s book encompasses different aspects of the
ethical and political debates in a pluralistic way, and offers a
good basis for understanding argument and action in our polarized
democracies, especially for the younger generation.' —Bernard
Reber, Research Director (political sciences), CNRS, Sciences Po,
Paris, France'Hulme and the contributors to Contemporary Climate
Change Debates see climate change for what it really is: a
political problem, not a scientific one. The science is as certain
as it’s ever going to be. What students need is a framework for
understanding how their values—and the values of well-intentioned
others who disagree with them—attach to climate science to produce
policy. And that is precisely what this book provides.' —Lynda
Walsh, Associate Professor of English, University of Nevada,
USA'This collection of climate change debates constitutes a timely
contribution edited by Mike Hulme, one of the most renowned
scholars in climate research, who brings together the necessary
cross-disciplinary perspectives. Following up his seminal book Why
We Disagree About Climate Change, Hulme here undertakes the
innovative initiative of bringing in voices of both established and
emerging scholars, a very promising move for informative and
constructive dialogues.' —Kjersti Fløttum, Professor of
Linguistics, University of Bergen, Norway'At a time when climate
change denial has become a deliberate distraction by vested
interests rather than a good faith intellectual engagement, this
book offers a refreshing take on decision-making amidst complexity.
These are the climate change debates we need to have—not, "is it
happening?", but "what are we going to do about it?" Mike Hulme
brings together established and emerging scholarly voices in a
format that will engage students of many backgrounds.' —Lesley
Head, Professor of Geography, University of Melbourne,
Australia'These carefully designed exchanges by respected scholars
allow students to experience meaningful differences of thought and
to form their own judgements. Curated by Mike Hulme, a researcher
with world-class expertise in scientific and cultural dimensions of
climate change, there are no false debates or fake controversies
here. Instead, there are mature arguments over questions that will
shape future climate pathways. An invaluable classroom resource.'
—Willis Jenkins, Professor of Religious Studies, University of
Virginia, USA'The debates about climate change in this book go far
beyond the usual arguments over whether climate change is happening
to explore some of the key questions about how to study and
attribute change, impacts and costs; whether markets, renewables,
solar climate engineering and non-state actors provide the best
solutions; and how to address climate justice and communication. I
especially appreciate the depth of social science perspectives and
the effort to include many voices of women scholars. A terrific
resource for teaching, and for researchers wishing to broaden their
understanding of key contemporary topics in climate change.' —Diana
Livermann, Regent’s Professor of Geography and Development,
University of Arizona, USA'Studying climate change as a student can
be daunting. With such a vast array of different literature
available it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. This
volume does justice to the truly interdisciplinary nature of
climate change. Written in a tone appropriate for all students from
A-level upwards, and with extensive offerings of extra reading for
each chapter, Hulme’s book is an absolute necessity for those
seeking answers to the big questions of climate change. If only it
had been published while I was studying!' —Daisy Malton, geography
graduate student, University of Cambridge, UK
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