Earth System Governance ― World Politics in the Anthropocene

Humans are no longer spectators who need to adapt to their natural environment. Ourimpact on the earth has caused changes that are outside the range of natural variability and areequivalent to such major geological disruptions as ice ages. Some scientists argue that we haveentered a new epoch in planetary history: the Anthropocene. In such an era of planet-widetransformation, we need a new model for planet-wide environmental politics. In this book, FrankBiermann proposes "earth system" governance as just such a new paradigm. Biermann offersboth analytical and normative perspectives. He provides detailed analysis of global environmentalpolitics in terms of five dimensions of effective governance: agency, particularly agency beyondthat of state actors; architecture of governance, from local to global levels; accountability andlegitimacy; allocation of resources; and adaptiveness of the governance system. Biermann goes on tooffer a wide range of policy proposals for future environmental governance and a revitalized UnitedNations, ranging from the establishment of a World Environment Organization to mechanisms forstrengthened representation of civil society and scientists in global decision making to systems ofqualified majority voting in multilateral negotiations. Drawing on ten years of research, Biermannformulates earth system governance as an empirical reality and a political necessity.

Frank Biermann is Professor of Political Science and Environmental Policy Sciences at VU University Amsterdam and Visiting Professor of Earth System Governance at Lund University. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of fifteen books, including Managers of Global Change: The Influence of International Environmental Bureaucracies (coedited with Bernd Siebenhuner) and Global Environmental Governance Reconsidered (coedited with Philipp Pattberg), both published by the MIT Press.