About this book
Large-scale assessments, such as those by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), have been crucial in advancing our understanding of climate change. They have affirmed that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is urgently needed to avoid its disastrous consequences and that we possess the scientific knowledge and technical ability to meet that challenge. Citizens around the world are concerned about climate change and are willing to do something about it. What stands in the way of action?
Climate Obstruction systematically addresses the complex, organised, and well-funded set of actors who have actively resisted and undermined policy efforts to address climate change. This volume assembles nearly one hundred top experts from around the world to make the case that as climate action becomes globalised, efforts to obstruct it have become more deceptive, widespread, better funded, and dangerous. Contributors review and analyse the obstruction efforts undertaken by fossil-fuel industries, utilities, the transportation sector, agribusinesses, public relations firms, and organisations on the political far right. They also examine the role and effects of the media in disseminating climate disinformation and misinformation, and how these narratives potentially affect public opinion on climate action. They assess how obstruction of climate action occurs across the Global South, at the subnational level, at the United Nations and in the IPCC, and in the context of climate adaptation, concluding with a discussion of legal, state, and non-state efforts to address climate obstruction.
Providing a first-of-its-kind assessment of global climate obstruction, this volume advances our understanding of efforts to slow or block policies on climate change, which can guide more effective action to prevent obstruction in the future.
Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Contributors
1. Introduction: Understanding Obstruction of Climate Action / J. Timmons Roberts, Carlos R. S. Milani, Jennifer Jacquet, and Christian Downie
2. The Global Role of the Oil and Gas Industry in Climate Delay and Denial / Lead authors: Geoff Dembicki, Kristoffer Ekberg, and Kert Davies; Contributing authors: Ann-Kristin Bergquist, Ada Nissen, and Stella Levantesi
3. How Coal, Utilities, and Transportation Impede Climate Action / Lead authors: Jen Schneider and Gregory Trencher; Contributing authors: Peter K. Bsumek, Christian Downie, Paul K. Gellert, Giulio Mattioli, Jason Monios, Peter Newell, Jennifer Peeples, Joeri Wessling, Emily Williams, Ryan Wishart, and Ben Youriev
4. The Animal Agriculture Industry's Role in Obstructing Climate Action / Lead authors: Kathrin Lauber and Viveca Morris; Contributing authors: Jennifer Jacquet, Peter Li, Ina Moller, Silvia Secchi, Alex Wijeratna, and Melina De Bona
5. Climate Policy Obstruction on the Right and the Far Right / Lead authors: Dieter Plehwe and Justin Farrell; Contributing authors: Lucas Araldi, Jesse Callahan Bryant, William Callison, Kert Davies, Ruth E. McKie, Sotiris Mitralexis, and Alexandru Racu
6. Steering the Discourse: Legacy News, Social Media, Advertising, and Public Relations / Lead authors: Melissa Aronczyk and Maxwell Boykoff; Contributing authors: Travis G. Coan, Myanna Lahsen, Hanna E. Morris, and Chris Russill
7. Understanding the Political and Psychological Roots of Climate Misinformation and Its Impact on Public Opinion / Lead authors: Dominik A. Stecula and John Cook; Contributing authors: Arunima Krishna, Adrian Dominik Wojcik, Jean Carlos Hochsprung Miguel, Matthew Hornsey, and Salil Benegal
8. Climate Obstruction Across the Global South / Lead authors: M. Omar Faruque and Ruth E. McKie; Contributing authors: Lucas G. Christel, Claire Debucquois, Guy Edwards, Paul K. Gellert, Ricardo A. Gutierrez, Kathryn Hochstetler, Yifei Li, Carlos R. S. Milani, Elisabeth Mohle, Oluwaseun J. Oguntuase, and Jonathan R. Walz
9. Blocking Climate Action at Subnational Levels / Lead authors: Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo, Joshua A. Basseches, and Marcela Lopez-Vallejo; Contributing authors: Lucas G. Christel, Andrew B. Kirkpatrick, Simone Lucatello, and Maria Isabel Santos Lima
10. Obstruction in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change / Lead authors: Kari De Pryck and Eduardo Viola; Contributing authors: Stefan C. Aykut, Larissa Basso, Danielle Falzon, Matias Franchini, Friederike Hartz, Hannah Hughes, Vinicius Mendes, Carlos R. S. Milani, Bruna Bosi Moreira, Geraldine Pflieger, and Emanuel Semedo
11. Obstructing Global and Local Climate Change Adaptation / Lead authors: Laura Kuhl and Stacy-ann Robinson; Contributing authors: Natalie Dietrich Jones, Danielle Falzon, Andrew Malmuth, Michael Mikulewicz, Meg Mills-Novoa, Michelle Mycoo, Meg Parsons, M. Feisal Rahman, Kimberley Anh Thomas, E. Lisa F. Schipper, and Edward Walker
12. Legal and State Efforts to Address Climate Obstruction / Lead authors: Grace Nosek, Joana Setzer, and Benjamin Franta; Contributing authors: Alyssa Johl, Lisa Benjamin, Sharon Yadin, William W. Buzbee, and Aria Kovalovich
13. Confronting Climate Obstruction: The Role of Civil Society and Non-State Actors / Lead authors: Jennie C. Stephens and Sharon Yadin; Contributing authors: Laurence L. Delina, Louise M. Fitzgerald, Francisco Garcia-Gibson, Fergus Green, Noel Healy, David J. Hess, Tariro Kamuti, Cristiana Losekann, David Michaels, Sonja Solomun, and Robin Tschoetschel
Index
Customer Reviews
Biography
J. Timmons Roberts is the Ittleson Professor of Environment and Society and the Executive Director of the Climate Social Science Network (CSSN) at Brown University. Roberts is the co-author or editor of fourteen books and edited volumes, and of more than one hundred articles and book chapters. He was awarded the Frederick Buttel Award for distinguished scholarship from the American Sociological Association and the International Sociological Association.
Carlos R. S. Milani is Professor of International Relations at the Institute of Social and Political Studies of the Rio de Janeiro State University. He is the director of the Interdisciplinary Observatory of Climate Change and a member of the Climate Social Science Network (CSSN) at Brown University. His latest book is Cooperación internacional al desarrollo: entre solidaridad e interés (El Colegio de México, 2023).
Jennifer Jacquet is Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami, and affiliated faculty with the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy. She is also Associate Research Director of the Climate Social Science Network (CSSN) at Brown University. She is the author of dozens of research articles and two books: Is Shame Necessary (Pantheon, 2015) and The Playbook (Pantheon, 2022).
Christian Downie is a Professor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University, where he is the Director of the Governing Energy Transition (GET) Lab. Downie has worked as an advisor to governments and think tanks. He is the author of two books and more than forty peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on global climate and energy politics.
Contributors:
- Jennifer Allan
- Lucas Araldi
- Melissa Aronczyk
- Stefan C. Aykut
- Joshua A. Basseches
- Larissa Basso
- Salil Benegal
- Lisa Benjamin
- Ann-Kristin Bergquist
- Maxwell Boykoff
- Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo
- Robert J. Brulle
- Jesse Callahan Bryant
- Peter K. Bsumek
- William W. Buzbee
- William Callison
- Lucas G. Christel
- Travis G. Coan
- John Cook
- Kert Davies
- Melina De Bona
- Claire Debucquois
- Laurence L. Delina
- Geoff Dembicki
- Kari De Pryck
- Christian Downie
- Guy Edwards
- Kristoffer Ekberg
- Danielle Falzon
- Justin Farrell
- M. Omar Faruque
- Louise M. Fitzgerald
- Matias Franchini
- Benjamin Franta
- Francisco Garcia-Gibson
- Paul K. Gellert
- Fergus Green
- Ricardo A. Gutierrez
- Friederike Hartz
- Noel Healy
- David J. Hess
- Kathryn Hochstetler
- Matthew Hornsey
- Hannah Hughes
- Jennifer Jacquet
- Alyssa Johl
- Natalie Dietrich Jones
- Tariro Kamuti
- Andrew B. Kirkpatrick
- Aria Kovalovich
- Arunima Krishna
- Laura Kuhl
- Myanna Lahsen
- Kathrin Lauber
- Stella Levantesi
- Peter Li
- Yifei Li
- Maria Isabel Santos Lima
- Marcela Lopez-Vallejo
- Cristiana Losekann
- Simone Lucatello
- Andrew Malmuth
- Giulio Mattioli
- Ruth E. McKie
- Vinicius Mendes
- David Michaels
- Jean Carlos Hochsprung Miguel
- Michael Mikulewicz
- Carlos R. S. Milani
- Meg Mills-Novoa
- Sotiris Mitralexis
- Elisabeth Mohle
- Ina Moller
- Jason Monios
- Bruna Bosi Moreira
- Hanna E. Morris
- Viveca Morris
- Michelle Mycoo
- Peter Newell
- Ada Nissen
- Grace Nosek
- Oluwaseun J. Oguntuase
- Meg Parsons
- Jennifer Peeples
- Geraldine Pflieger
- Dieter Plehwe
- Alexandru Racu
- M. Feisal Rahman
- J. Timmons Roberts
- Frances Roberts-Gregory
- Stacy-ann Robinson
- Chris Russill
- E. Lisa F. Schipper
- Jen Schneider
- Silvia Secchi
- Emanuel Semedo
- Joana Setzer
- Amanda Shanor
- Sonja Solomun
- Miranda C. Spencer
- Dominik A. Stecula
- Jennie C. Stephens
- Kimberley Anh Thomas
- Gregory Trencher
- Robin Tschoetschel
- Eduardo Viola
- Edward Walker
- Jonathan R. Walz
- Joeri Wessling
- Alex Wijeratna
- Emily Williams
- Ryan Wishart
- Adrian Dominik Wojcik
- Sharon Yadin
- Ben Youriev
