Research
You will find a complete range of our monographs, muti-authored and edited works including peer-reviewed, original scholarly research across the social sciences and aligned disciplines. We publish long and short form research and you can browse the complete Bristol University Press and Policy Press archive.
Policy Press also publishes policy reviews and polemic work which aim to challenge policy and practice in certain fields. These books have a practitioner in mind and are practical, accessible in style, as well as being academically sound and referenced.
Climate scientists have warned that, without immediate and sharp cuts to the dependence on fossil fuels, the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 °C goal is likely to be overshot within this decade. Demands for a rapid exit from fossil fuels, particularly coal, are intensifying. A growing number of countries and regions have set net zero climate targets for mid-century and more and more countries are issuing plans to speed up the transition of their energy systems. At the same time, various actors have worked to slow climate action, and fossil fuel interests persistently delay or obstruct decarbonization efforts. This chapter summarizes the long history of international climate negotiations, presents the current status of climate programs in selected countries and sheds light on the role of recent (anti-)climate movements. It argues that the implementation of SDG 13 (‘urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts’) faces three key challenges: (1) the tension between increasing urgency and a voluntary post-Paris climate governance regime; (2) the need to balance development priorities with climate change concerns; and (3) the sociopolitical struggles attached to climate action.
