Pathologies of Climate Governance
International Relations, National Politics and Human Nature

Earth's climate is in crisis. Climate governance has failed. This book diagnoses climate governance as if it were a sick patient, uncovering the fundamental factors causing the worsening climate crisis. It distils decades of global climate negotiations to reveal the features of international relations that are impeding climate action, and it identifies political obstacles to climate governance across a variety of countries in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The psychosocial aspects of climate change are explored to show how human nature, overconsumption, and global capitalism conspire to stymy climate action. Remedies are suggested for how to overcome hurdles to effective climate governance internationally and nationally, with ideas provided for individuals to help them align their own interests with those of the global environment. Covering all of the major recent events in climate politics and governance, this is an accessible book for concerned readers who want to understand the climate crisis.

Acknowledgements; List of figures and tables; List of abbreviations and acronyms; Part I. Problems: 1. Dysfunction in climate governance; 2. The worsening climate crisis; Part II. Pathologies: 3. Pathologies of international relations; 4. Pathologies of national politics in the United States and China; 5. Pathologies of national politics in the Global North; 6. Pathologies of national politics in the Global South; 7. Pathologies of human nature; Part III. Prescriptions: 8. Reconsidering international, national and human governance; 9. Prescriptions for governing climate change; 10. Policies and prospects for climate governance; Conclusion; References; Index.

Paul G. Harris has written or edited 25 books on global environmental and climate change politics, policy, and ethics, including: What's Wrong with Climate Politics and How to Fix It (Polity Press, 2013), the Routledge Handbook of Global Environmental Politics (Routledge, 2014), Global Ethics and Climate Change (Edinburgh University Press, 2016), and Climate Change and Ocean Governance (Cambridge, 2019). He is the Chair Professor of Global and Environmental Studies at the Education University of Hong Kong and a Senior Research Fellow in the Earth System Governance global research alliance.