Global Ecopolitics Revisited ─ Towards a Complex Governance of Global Environmental Problems

With the rise of global environmental issues and in the face of numerous criticisms of the current system for having failed to demonstrate much progress in solving environmental problems, international environmental governance remains high on the agenda of governments and international institutions.

Presenting a multi-facetted exploration of the key issues and questions in global ecopolitics, this book brings together recent advances in research on global environmental governance in order to identify new avenues of inquiry and action. Each chapter covers a topic that lies at the heart of current efforts to build governance systems, including the centrality of global environmental problems for societies and citizens; the role of knowledge and the evolving relationship between science and policy; and the European Union as a key actor in global environmental governance.

Laying the foundation for rethinking at a time of great transformation in global ecopolitics, this book will be essential reading for students of environmental politics and governance. It will also be of relevance to policy makers with an interest in this crucial topic.

Philippe Le Prestre is Professor of Political science at Laval University (Quebec, Canada) where he specialises in international environmental politics. He was the founding director of Laval University’s Sustainable Development Institute (2005-2011) and, between 1995 and 1999, chaired the Environmental Studies Section of the International Studies Association. Philippe Le Prestre is or has been a member of a number of national and international scientific advisory bodies. He is a recipient of the Gold Medal of French Renaissance, and a Knight of Madagascar’s National Order.