Co-authored with Pamela S. Chasek, Global Environmental Politics has received praise from a number of scholars and spent two weeks at number one on Amazon.com's list of new publications in environmental studies.
David Downie, PhD, associate professor of politics and environmental studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, is co-author of Global Environmental Politics with Pamela S. Chasek. The eighth edition of their book, published by Routledge in December of 2020, covers “critical” new developments in global environmental politics and policymaking.
“This book is designed to be useful not only to graduate and advanced undergraduates but also other scholars as well as policymakers working in the field at the national and international level,” said Dr. Downie, who is also the chair of the Department of Political Science and the former director of the Environmental Studies Program.
“It provides both a thorough introduction and overview of global environmental politics, as well as detailed analyses of key issues — in particular the policy debates and developments related to climate change, biodiversity, toxic chemicals, and other issues.”
The book, called "the definitive textbook in its field” by Jeffrey Sachs, former director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, incorporates insights from scholarly literature, materials produced during global environmental negotiations, input from international organizations working on environmental issues, and the authors’ experiences attending or closely following particular global environmental policy negotiations since 1990.
This new edition includes updated case studies on key issues such as on climate change, endangered species, ozone depletion, desertification, whaling, hazardous wastes, toxic chemicals, and biodiversity. The book details the ongoing development of major environmental treaty regimes and new case studies on mercury and marine biodiversity, showcasing the challenges of creating new treaties during a period of significant global change. There is also new material on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on environmental diplomacy.
Updated information about global environmental trends, paradigms, and actors completes this comprehensive introduction to contemporary international environmental politics.
