The print edition of my latest book, A Planetary Tragedy – Why Humanity Fails the Environmental Challenge (November 2022) is available in PDF format and in paperback. Hard copies (NZ$59.95 + postage) can be ordered by email to buhrs2050@gmail.com.
A Planetary Tragedy addresses the question of why, some 50 years after ‘the environment’ became a topic of public concern, efforts to address environmental problems have by and large failed and the world appears to be headed for a disastrous future. Although over these years, governments have adopted a raft of national and international measures to combat environmental issues, most of these have proven to be inadequate and the rate of environmental degradation has continued unabated.
The book critically surveys and analyses the environmental performance of countries, in particular some that have been regarded as ‘environmental leaders’, and identifies and discusses three broad reasons for this failure. First, the way environmental problems have been predominantly interpreted, which largely ignores the deep and interconnected nature of the environmental challenge; second, the failure to recognise, let alone address, the systemic sources and causes of environmental problems; third, the power structures in the prevailing political-economic systems, which make it virtually impossible to fundamentally change those systems and to put societies onto a path towards sustainability.
Covering an extensive literature, the book draws on research, theories, findings, and ideas from the fields of environmental politics and policy, including comparative, international, and global analyses and perspectives, environmental sociology and history, economics and the environment, political and social theory, and environmental management. It puts forward a framework that can assist in taking a comprehensive and integrated approach to the environmental challenge, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of a range of theoretical perspectives, clarifies key concepts and factors central to better understanding the systemic issues and obstacles lying at the heart of the environmental challenge, and puts forward ideas on how to strategically address the enormous imbalance of power that stands in the way of transformative change. The main suggestion is the creation of national-level Sovereign People’s Authorities based on the principle of popular sovereignty that will enable societies to democratically steer themselves towards a sustainable and desirable future.
The book is essential reading for students and academics in the areas of environmental politics and policy, including comparative, international and global environmental politics, and all those who wish to gain a deeper understanding of why societies have been unable to address the environmental challenge more effectively. While not offering a basis for facile optimism, it puts the finger on what will be needed to prevent the world from sliding further towards the abyss.
About the author
Born in the Netherlands, Ton Bührs graduated with a Drs in Political and Social Sciences from the University of Amsterdam. He moved to New Zealand in 1984 and completed a PhD in the field of Environmental Policy and Politics with the Department of Political Studies at the University of Auckland. In 1991, he joined Lincoln University, where he became an Associate Professor in Environmental Policy and Politics until his retirement in 2014.
Humanity on Trial 