Green Planet Blues: Critical Perspectives on Global Environmental Politics

421 Pages·2019·4.256 MB·English

by  Geoffrey D. Dabelko (editor), Ken Conca (editor)

“The updated sixth edition of Green Planet Blues, edited by Conca and Dabelko,
is a must-read for students, scholars and policy makers concerned about environ-
mental scarcity and environmental sustainability. The chapters of this volume deal
with this important subject in a comprehensive and insightful manner, and in its
breadth and depth, this book remains a major contribution.”
—Ashok Swain, Professor of Peace and Conflict Research & UNESCO Chair of
International Water Cooperation, Uppsala University
“Green Planet Blues remains the go-to anthology for capturing the big theoreti-
cal debates and thematic issues in global environmental politics. Important topics
covered include climate change, environmental security, sustainability and ecolog-
ical justice. What makes this volume distinctive is the inclusion of both academic
and practitioner voices that inspire as well as remind us of the challenges faced in
building institutions and governance mechanisms for the environment.”
—Erika Weinthal, Lee Hill Snowdon Professor of Environmental Policy,
Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University
“Green Planet Blues is a unique text, capturing a truly global diversity of voices
and perspectives on the state of our planet. Insightful readings, along with con-
necting essays and discussions, will inspire critical reflection and debate. This
new edition, which takes us from the elite actors negotiating the Paris Agreement
to grassroots activists in Appalachia, articulates the factors that have led to our
present- day crisis and offers glimpses of a sustainable future.”
—Kate O’Neill, Professor, Department of Environmental Science,
Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley

G R E E N
P L A N E T
B L U E S
Revised and updated throughout, this unique anthology examines global environ-
mental politics from a range of perspectives and capturing the voices of both the
powerless and the powerful. Paradigms of sustainability, environmental security,
and ecological justice illustrate the many ways environmental challenges and their
solutions are framed in contemporary international debates about climate, water,
forests, toxics, energy, food, and biodiversity.
Organized thematically, the selections offer a truly global scope. Seventeen new
readings explore climate justice, globalization, land and water grabs, climate change
and conflict, China’s international environmental relations, and the future of cli-
mate politics in the wake of the Paris Agreement. This book stresses the underlying
questions of power, interests, authority, and legitimacy that shape environmental
debates, and it provides readers with a global range of perspectives on the critical
challenges facing the planet and its people.
This new edition of Green Planet Blues connects directly with a wide-range of
upper-level undergraduate and graduate-level courses.
Ken Conca is Professor of International Relations in the School of International
Service at American University. He is the author and editor of several books on
global environmental politics, peacebuilding, global governance, the United Nations,
and the politics of water.
Geoffrey D. Dabelko is Professor and Associate Dean at Ohio University’s Voi-
novich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. He is also a Senior Advisor for the
Environmental Change and Security Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center in
Washington, DC.

SIXTH EDITION
GREEN
PLANET
BLUES
CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
EDITED BY KEN CONCA
AND
GEOFFREY D. DABELKO
Sixth edition published 2019
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Taylor & Francis
The right of Ken Conca and Geoffrey D. Dabelko to be identified as the authors of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
First edition published by Westview Press 1996
Fifth edition published by Westview Press 2014
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Conca, Ken, editor. | Dabelko, Geoffrey D., editor.
Title: Green planet blues: critical perspectives on global environmental
politics / edited by Ken Conca & Geoffrey D. Dabelko.
Description: Sixth Edition. | New York: Routledge, 2019. |
Revised edition of Green planet blues, [2015] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019017796 (print) | LCCN 2019021653 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780429322204 (Master) | ISBN 9781000439281 (Adobe) |
ISBN 9781000444131 (Mobi) | ISBN 9781000448986 (ePub3) |
ISBN 9780367280727 (hardback) | ISBN 9780813350936 (pbk.) |
ISBN 9780429322204 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Environmental policy. | Sustainable development. | Green movement.
Classification: LCC HC79.E5 (ebook) | LCC HC79.E5 G6916 2019 (print) |
DDC 363.7—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019017796
ISBN: 978-0-367-28072-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-8133-5093-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-32220-4 (ebk)
Typeset in Minion Pro
by codeMantra
Visit the eResources: www.routledge.com/9780813350936
CONTENTS
Preface xi
Introduction: From Stockholm to Sustainability? Ken Conca and
Geoffrey D. Dabelko 1
PART ONE
THE DEBATE BEGINS 17
1. The Limits to Growth, Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows,
Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III 27
2. Environment and Development: The Case of the
Developing Countries, João Augusto de Araujo Castro 32
3. The Tragedy of the Commons, Garrett Hardin 41
4. Redefining National Security, Lester R. Brown 50
5. Two Agendas on Amazon Development, Coordinating Body
for the Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations of the
Amazon Basin (COICA) 57
6. Beyond the Tragedy of the Commons, Xavier Basurto and
Elinor Ostrom 64
PART TWO
ECOLOGY AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM 79
7. Rethinking the Ecology–Sovereignty Debate, Ken Conca 89
8. China’s Environmental Challenges, Judith Shapiro 101
9. Nobel Lecture, Wangari Maathai 109
10. Transnational Environmental Activism in North America:
Wielding Soft Power through Knowledge Sharing?
Raul Pacheco-Vega 115
vviiii
viii Contents
PART THREE
INSTITUTIONS OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL
GOVERNANCE 137
11. Green Pluralism: Lessons for Improved Environmental Governance
in the 21st Century, Norichika Kanie, Peter M. Haas, Steinar
Andresen, Graeme Auld, Benjamin Cashore, Pamela S. Chasek, Jose
A. Puppim de Oliveira, Stefan Renckens, Olav Schram Stokke, Casey
Stevens, Stacy D. VanDeveer, and Masahiko Iguchi 147
12. A Wish List for an Environmentally Friendly NAFTA, Jennifer Huizen 165
13. The Climate Change Battle in Paris, Meenakshi Raman 175
14. Climate Change after Paris: From Turning Point to Transformation,
Richard Kinley 188
15. This Changes Nothing: The Paris Agreement to Ignore Reality,
Clive L. Spash 196
PART FOUR
THE SUSTAINABILITY DEBATE 203
16. From the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable
Development Goals: Shifts in Purpose, Concept, and Politics of
Global Goal-Setting for Development, Sakiko Fukuda-Parr 212
17. The Problem of Consumption, Peter Dauvergne 222
18. The End of Sustainability, Melinda Harm Benson and
Robin Kundis Craig 232
19. Sustainability vs. Resilience, William E. Rees 238
20. Sustainability Is Not Enough: We Need Regenerative Cultures,
Daniel C. Wahl 241
PART FIVE
FROM ECOLOGICAL CONFLICT TO ENVIRONMENTAL
SECURITY? 247
21. An Uncommon Peace: Environment, Development, and
the Global Security Agenda, Geoffrey D. Dabelko 256
22. From Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Role of Natural Resources
and the Environment, United Nations Environment Programme 271
23. The Role of Drought and Climate Change in the Syrian Uprising:
Untangling the Triggers of the Revolution, Francesca de Châtel 286
24. Environmental Peacebuilding: The Good Water
Neighbors Project, EcoPeace 305
25. Deadly Environment, Global Witness 319
Contents ix
PART SIX
ECOLOGICAL JUSTICE 327
26. Climate Wrongs and Human Rights: Putting People at the Heart of
Climate-change Policy, Oxfam International 336
27. The Global Water Grab: A Primer, Sylvia Kay and Jenny Franco 342
28. The Real Price of Europe Going Green, Silas Kpanan’Ayoung Siakor 357
29. Coal, Identity, and the Gendering of Environmental Justice
Activism in Central Appalachia, Shannon Bell and Yvonne A. Braun 362
30. Inequality and Environmental Policy, Joseph E. Stiglitz 381
Index 385