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Now in its second edition, Global Capitalism and Climate Change: The Need for an Alternative World System examines anthropogenic climate change in the context of global capitalism, a political economy that emphasizes profit-making, is committed to on-going economic growth, results in massive social inequality, fosters a treadmill of production and consumption, and is heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Looking ahead, Hans A. Baer explores the systemic changes necessary to create a more socially just, democratic, and environmentally sustainable world system capable of moving humanity toward a safer climate. This book is recommended for readers interested in anti-systemic efforts, including eco-anarchism, eco-feminism, the de-growth perspective, Indigenous voices, and the climate justice movement.
Chapter 1: The Impact of Climate Change on the Environment and Human Societies
Chapter 2: The Capitalist World System and its Contradictions
Chapter 3: The Capitalist Treadmill of Production and Consumption as a Generator of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Chapter 4: The Inadequacies of Existing Climate Regimes for Mitigating Climate Change
Chapter 5: Why Green Capitalism Is Insufficient to Mitigate Climate Change
Chapter 6: The Climate Movement: Internationally, Nationally, and Locally
Chapter 7: Visions of the Future: Dystopia, Reflexive Modernization, and Eco-Socialism
Chapter 8: Toward a Socio-Ecological Revolution: System-Challenging Transitional Reforms
Conclusion: Climate Change, the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the Need for Eco-Socialism
Hans A. Baer is a principal honorary research fellow in the School of Social-Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne.
"System change has been an increasingly strong rallying call within climate action movements. But what does it really mean? In this second edition of Global Capitalism and Climate Change: The Need for an Alternative World System, nearly a decade since its original publication, Hans A. Baer details the massive implications of system change for the climate emergency that we are now experiencing globally"
– Anitra Nelson, The University of Melbourne
"Hans A. Baer has for years produced critical and original work on the climate crisis, and this book, now in its second edition, may well be his masterpiece – passionately written, filled with facts and critical analysis, and crystal clear in its radical message. You can read it as a manual, a clarion call, an encyclopedia, or a guidebook. It has everything you need to understand why fundamental changes are necessary and how we can make them happen. Indeed, Baer makes it possible to imagine the end of capitalism rather than the end of the world. That is no mean achievement."
– Thomas Hylland Eriksen, University of Oslo
"This book should be read by every student and teacher, unionist and business leader, grass-roots activist and politician. It will convince even the most hardened climate denialist. Hans A. Baer's vigorous transdisciplinary analysis of global warming spells out the science, amplifies our political options for the future, and makes it very clear that 'green capitalism' trading in credits for 'hot air' will certainly not be enough."
– Ariel Salleh, University of Sydney
