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Very Short Introductions #457
Environmental Politics: A Very Short Introduction
Environmental politics has many faces and operates at multiple scales: it preoccupies individuals as well as governments, drives local agreements as well as international treaties, results in minor business changes as well as wholesale business decisions, and fluctuates between a politics of protest and one of accommodation.
In this Very Short Introduction Andrew Dobson offers a lively and comprehensive commentary on the many facets of environmental politics today. Looking towards the future, he asks whether environmental politics will be comfortably accommodated by mainstream politics, or whether the advent of the Anthropocene - a whole new geological epoch driven by human impact on the environment - will herald a break with the politics of growth that has dominated social life since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
In this Very Short Introduction Andrew Dobson offers a lively and comprehensive commentary on the many facets of environmental politics today. Looking towards the future, he asks whether environmental politics will be comfortably accommodated by mainstream politics, or whether the advent of the Anthropocene - a whole new geological epoch driven by human impact on the environment - will herald a break with the politics of growth that has dominated social life since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 2016
25 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
Andrew P. Dobson
27 books6 followersBritish political author and Professor at Keele University. His main interest is population dynamics in birds and mammals as well as parasites and their hosts. He also deals with the application of theoretical ecology in nature conservation biology and for the control of infectious diseases.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 11, 2016
Probably as clear an outline of the principles, terms, and issues of environmental politics as one could read - quite an impressive and succinct introduction.
April 28, 2022
Quite a well-written summary and he tried to cover a lot in very few pages so that’s impressive!
GENERAL TAKEAWAYS
1) Differentiating environmentalism vs écologism. The latter is abt changing *radically* our relationship between the human and non-human world. The former is abt adopting a managerial approach to environmental problems without fundamental changes to our patterns of consumption and production.
- useful heuristic to understand and explain positions as a whole.
- but I’m still unsure if policies can fall neatly into either category (as with most -isms when we try to operationalise our principles). Eg extended producer responsibility schemes / laws re:right to repairs / putting economic value on nature to account for externalities - is that radical or managerial solutions?
(But of course this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to operationalise our principles! Intentions may not always lead to the good / intended outcomes but when we have clear intentions/ principles, we can course-correct.)
2) really enjoyed the comparative case study between ozone depletion (success of Montreal) vs climate change (relative failure of IPCC / COPs)
3) env politics is caused by differing priorities. And why do we have different priorities — largely because of differences in timescale - “Fifty years ago, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson is supposed to have said that a week is a long time in politics. Right at the other end of the scale we find biologist Colin Tudge writing that, We cannot claim to be taking our species and our planet seriously
until we acknowledge that a million years is a proper unit of political time.”
4) way forward - “contraction and convergence”. Wealthy societies contract their economies in line w limits to growth (DEGROWTH), poorer societies expand theirs to legitimate expectations — converging on a scale of production & consumption that satisfied both env susty and social equity (which means justice, voice, and recognition esp for this with no power / marginalised systemically).
Interesting facts / figures:
- Planetary boundaries by Johann Rockstrom - 4/9 boundaries have alr been transgressed as of 2015.
4 alr transgressed:
- climate change
- rate if biodiversity loss
- land use
- rate of interference with nitrogen cycle
Other 5:
- ocean acidification
- freshwater
- ozone depletion
- atmospheric aerosols
- chemical pollution
- 2014 IPCC report: carbon budget is 870 - 1240 giga tons of CO2 between 2011 to 2050. But fossil reserve amount to 11,000 Gt of CO2 —> 1/3 of oil, 1/2 of natural gas, 4/5 coal will have to be unused from now till 2050 to keep within budget.
GENERAL TAKEAWAYS
1) Differentiating environmentalism vs écologism. The latter is abt changing *radically* our relationship between the human and non-human world. The former is abt adopting a managerial approach to environmental problems without fundamental changes to our patterns of consumption and production.
- useful heuristic to understand and explain positions as a whole.
- but I’m still unsure if policies can fall neatly into either category (as with most -isms when we try to operationalise our principles). Eg extended producer responsibility schemes / laws re:right to repairs / putting economic value on nature to account for externalities - is that radical or managerial solutions?
(But of course this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to operationalise our principles! Intentions may not always lead to the good / intended outcomes but when we have clear intentions/ principles, we can course-correct.)
2) really enjoyed the comparative case study between ozone depletion (success of Montreal) vs climate change (relative failure of IPCC / COPs)
3) env politics is caused by differing priorities. And why do we have different priorities — largely because of differences in timescale - “Fifty years ago, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson is supposed to have said that a week is a long time in politics. Right at the other end of the scale we find biologist Colin Tudge writing that, We cannot claim to be taking our species and our planet seriously
until we acknowledge that a million years is a proper unit of political time.”
4) way forward - “contraction and convergence”. Wealthy societies contract their economies in line w limits to growth (DEGROWTH), poorer societies expand theirs to legitimate expectations — converging on a scale of production & consumption that satisfied both env susty and social equity (which means justice, voice, and recognition esp for this with no power / marginalised systemically).
Interesting facts / figures:
- Planetary boundaries by Johann Rockstrom - 4/9 boundaries have alr been transgressed as of 2015.
4 alr transgressed:
- climate change
- rate if biodiversity loss
- land use
- rate of interference with nitrogen cycle
Other 5:
- ocean acidification
- freshwater
- ozone depletion
- atmospheric aerosols
- chemical pollution
- 2014 IPCC report: carbon budget is 870 - 1240 giga tons of CO2 between 2011 to 2050. But fossil reserve amount to 11,000 Gt of CO2 —> 1/3 of oil, 1/2 of natural gas, 4/5 coal will have to be unused from now till 2050 to keep within budget.
October 10, 2019
I'm a bit sorry to give a poor rating to a book on environmental politics, by an author who is clearly enthusiastic about it and who has a history of contributing to it. This book is needed and fills a niche that needed to be filled. But it is written sloppily.
For instance, the author traces the origins of unsustainable living to agriculture (...what about the human-caused mass extinction of large herbivores such as mammoths, large elks, etc., via over-hunting?), very quickly glosses over game theoretical/economic assessments of environmental policies, assimilates economic growth and pollution output, puts long distance train and plane travel in the same sentence as if they were even comparable, etc. Furthermore, the themes are all over the place, tensions or even contradictions are raised but no convincing way forward is presented, etc. These concerns all seem minor in isolation, but the accumulation of sloppiness makes for an exhausting (rather than stimulating) read.
To be sure I learned many things from this book. I especially liked the chapter on the philosophy of environmental politics, notably the discussion of the value of animal life or living environments (intrinsic or not?). But it's possible to write a better "very short" book on the subject of environmental politics writ large, by taking a more systematic approach to the subject: more rigorous, more precise, more organized, and more concerned with focusing on what really matters.
For instance, the author traces the origins of unsustainable living to agriculture (...what about the human-caused mass extinction of large herbivores such as mammoths, large elks, etc., via over-hunting?), very quickly glosses over game theoretical/economic assessments of environmental policies, assimilates economic growth and pollution output, puts long distance train and plane travel in the same sentence as if they were even comparable, etc. Furthermore, the themes are all over the place, tensions or even contradictions are raised but no convincing way forward is presented, etc. These concerns all seem minor in isolation, but the accumulation of sloppiness makes for an exhausting (rather than stimulating) read.
To be sure I learned many things from this book. I especially liked the chapter on the philosophy of environmental politics, notably the discussion of the value of animal life or living environments (intrinsic or not?). But it's possible to write a better "very short" book on the subject of environmental politics writ large, by taking a more systematic approach to the subject: more rigorous, more precise, more organized, and more concerned with focusing on what really matters.
March 6, 2025
Looking through the roster of Oxford University Press’s very short introductions, I was left pondering how this influential series would develop over the coming decades. Many, including this one, are now out of date and, working in publishing myself, I know how difficult it is to publish new editions – especially when one might ideally call upon an alternative author who may have an entirely different approach in mind and may come at things with fresh ideas – the list of authors is overwhelmingly male and of a certain class after all. Also, how far down from ‘big picture’ subjects can one drill?
Dobson’s book is good as a snapshot of the world of environmental politics in 2009 and took me back to working on environmental and ecological economics books during the era the book was published. It’s clear on key concepts and doesn’t ignore the Global South. The tension between what governments can do and what individuals can do remains relevant – especially in the light of the new US government’s climate denial and the UK Labour party’s abrupt dropping of their green commitments on arrival in power in 2024. The potted histories of the growth of green parties is are especially good although in Germany, the greens have once again struggled to be influential as part of a ruling coalition. Dobson has published for volumes of a Green Political Thought book for Routledge which will help readers delve a bit deeper.
Dobson’s book is good as a snapshot of the world of environmental politics in 2009 and took me back to working on environmental and ecological economics books during the era the book was published. It’s clear on key concepts and doesn’t ignore the Global South. The tension between what governments can do and what individuals can do remains relevant – especially in the light of the new US government’s climate denial and the UK Labour party’s abrupt dropping of their green commitments on arrival in power in 2024. The potted histories of the growth of green parties is are especially good although in Germany, the greens have once again struggled to be influential as part of a ruling coalition. Dobson has published for volumes of a Green Political Thought book for Routledge which will help readers delve a bit deeper.
September 5, 2019
Good summary in my view.
Explained the wide variety of reasons why different groups of people may have similar or diverging views on the environment. Argued it could be a common theme across divided ideologies.
Strange thing to me was, despite mentioning climate scepticism and the Republican party, repeated delays to international cooperation, and envirnomental harms caused at the local level, he barely mentioned one of the key factors behind this - corporate lobbying, disinformation and litigation. Unlike the ozone issue, far more private interests stand to directly or indirectly lose out from significant action on CO2 emissions or other cliamte change issues. That's why it's so difficult, surely? Money.
Explained the wide variety of reasons why different groups of people may have similar or diverging views on the environment. Argued it could be a common theme across divided ideologies.
Strange thing to me was, despite mentioning climate scepticism and the Republican party, repeated delays to international cooperation, and envirnomental harms caused at the local level, he barely mentioned one of the key factors behind this - corporate lobbying, disinformation and litigation. Unlike the ozone issue, far more private interests stand to directly or indirectly lose out from significant action on CO2 emissions or other cliamte change issues. That's why it's so difficult, surely? Money.
June 1, 2021
Excellent. Covers all the key topics relating to environmental politics, comparing and contrasting different approaches and perspectives. Succinct and digestible (at least compared to to the journal articles required for my MSc!)
Read
March 20, 2022A good summary of the ongoing global movements to preserve the environment and the politics around it. It is brief but shares a lot of stuff around such issues as climate change and the world's reactions to its related effects.
January 10, 2019
great introduction to environmental politics and to key players, themes, and terminology which dominate the discussion within the field. not comprehensive by any means but useful for what it is.
January 1, 2021
Good, succinct summary
Read
March 22, 2021Read for Enviro Politics and Christian Ethics
August 4, 2025
well put together. I look forward to learning more
December 3, 2016
A very good overview, though it could do with an update to reflect the conclusion and entry into force of the Paris Agreement. Considering eco-feminism would also be a good update; I found it very strange that Dobson's consideration of 'ecological feminism' covered only difference feminism.
April 27, 2016
Very topical and timely, very comprehensive and very accessible...
March 22, 2017
Dobson is here concerned with apprehending the challenges posed by the burgeoning field of "environmental politics"-- its challenges, its multifarious faces, and indeed, it's apparent permanence on the political scene. Environmental politics is here to stay (whether one likes it or not), and Dobson lucidly surveys its various guises and concerns while exploring also the many challenges it faces-- and will continue to face.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews