Beyond Politics

"Private sector action provides one of the most promising opportunities to reduce the risks of climate change, buying time while governments move slowly or even oppose climate mitigation. Starting with the insight that much of the resistance to climate mitigation is grounded in concern about the role of government, this book draws on law, policy, social science, and climate science to demonstrate how private initiatives are already bypassing government inaction in the US and around the globe. It makes a persuasive case that private governance can reduce global carbon emissions by a billion tons per year over the next decade. Combining an examination of the growth of private climate initiatives over the last decade, a theory of why private actors are motivated to reduce emissions, and a review of viable next steps, this book speaks to scholars, business and advocacy group managers, philanthropists, policymakers, and anyone interested in climate change"-- "More than 70% of the population in the United States believes that big government, not climate change, is the greatest challenge facing the country. Yet over the last three decades, discussions of what to do about climate change have focused on comprehensive agreements at the international level, and taxing or capping fossil fuel emissions, power plant regulations, energy efficiency mandates, and other government actions at the domestic level. As the 2016 presidential election in the United States demonstrates, though, it is dangerous to put all of our policy eggs in one basket: When combined with other sources of opposition in the United States and around the world, concern about the size and intrusiveness of government can lead to gridlock or retrenchment"--