The Carbon Crunch

Book excerpt: An economist’s take on “why the world’s efforts to curb the carbon dioxide emissions behind global warming have gone so wrong, and how it can do better” (Financial Times). Despite commitments to renewable energy and two decades of international negotiations, global emissions continue to rise. Coal, the most damaging of all fossil fuels, has actually risen from 25% to almost 30% of world energy use. And while European countries congratulate themselves on reducing emissions, they’ve increased their carbon imports from China and other developing nations, who continue to expand their coal use. As standards of living improve in developing countries, coal use can only increase as well—and global temperatures along with it. Written by an Oxford economist who specializes in environmental issues, this book goes beyond pieties and pipe dreams to address the practical realities that are preventing us from making progress on this crucial issue—and what we can do differently before it’s too late. “Should be compulsory reading for the entire political class as well as the bureaucratic elite and the commentariat.”—New Statesman “An optimistically levelheaded book about actually dealing with global warming.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A powerful and heartfelt plea for hard-nosed realism.”—New Scientist