Political Economy of the Low-Carbon Transition

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.

• Section I: Climate change as problem.- Chapter 1: Defining the problem: The complex dimensions of the grave new threats we face.- Chapter 2: Framing the problem: How the climate change message is constructed.- Chapter 3: Addressing the problem: Understanding low-carbon transition with the social sciences.- Section II: Development pathways and the low-carbon future.- Chapter 4: Development models: Lessons from international development.- Chapter 5: Planning future pathways: Implications and outcomes of scenario studies.- Section III: Pathways in developed and developing countries.- Chapter 6: Development and sustainability in the wealthiest regions: Taking the high road?.- Chapter 7: Development and sustainability in the global South: Different routes to transition and a sustainable society.- Section IV: Pathways to a low-carbon future.- Chapter 8: Climate capitalism: How far can it get us?.- Chapter 9: Identifying an emerging paradigm: Towards ecosocialism?.- Chapter 10: Options and prospects for a global low-carbon transition.