State of the World 2014

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiv

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2. Introduction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Failing Governance, Unsustainable Planet

      • Michael Renner, Tom Prugh

      Pages 3-19

   3. Understanding Governance

      • D. Conor Seyle, Matthew Wilburn King

      Pages 20-28

3. Political Governance

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 29-29

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   2. Governance, Sustainability, and Evolution

      • John M. Gowdy

      Pages 31-40

   3. Ecoliteracy: Knowledge Is Not Enough

      • Monty Hempel

      Pages 41-52

   4. Digitization and Sustainability

      • Richard Worthington

      Pages 53-62

   5. Living in the Anthropocene: Business as Usual, or Compassionate Retreat?

      • Peter G. Brown, Jeremy J. Schmidt

      Pages 63-71

   6. Governing People as Members of the Earth Community

      • Cormac Cullinan

      Pages 72-81

   7. Listening to the Voices of Young and Future Generations

      • Antoine Ebel, Tatiana Rinke

      Pages 82-90

   8. Advancing Ecological Stewardship Via the Commons and Human Rights

      • David Bollier, Burns Weston

      Pages 91-104

   9. Looking Backward (Not Forward) to Environmental Justice

      • Aaron Sachs

      Pages 105-114

   10. The Too-Polite Revolution: Understanding the Failure to Pass U.S. Climate Legislation

       • Petra Bartosiewicz, Marissa Miley

       Pages 115-128

   11. China’s Environmental Governance Challenge

       • Sam Geall, Isabel Hilton

       Pages 129-137

   12. Assessing the Outcomes of Rio+20

       • Maria Ivanova

       Pages 138-151

   13. How Local Governments Have Become a Factor in Global Sustainability

       • Monika Zimmermann

       Pages 152-162

4. Economic Governance

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 163-163

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   2. Scrutinizing the Corporate Role in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

      • Lou Pingeot

      Pages 165-173

   3. Making Finance Serve the Real Economy

      • Thomas I. Palley

      Pages 174-180

Citizens expect their governments to lead on sustainability. But from largely disappointing international conferences like Rio II to the U.S.’s failure to pass meaningful climate legislation, governments’ progress has been lackluster. That’s not to say leadership is absent; it just often comes from the bottom up rather than the top down. Action—on climate, species loss, inequity, and other sustainability crises—is being driven by local, people’s, women’s, and grassroots movements around the world, often in opposition to the agendas pursued by governments and big corporations.

These diverse efforts are the subject of the latest volume in the Worldwatch Institute’s highly regarded State of the World series. The 2014 edition, marking the Institute’s 40th anniversary, examines both barriers to responsible political and economic governance as well as gridlock-shattering new ideas. The authors analyze a variety of trends and proposals, including regional and local climate initiatives, the rise of benefit corporations and worker-owned firms, the need for energy democracy, the Internet’s impact on sustainability, and the importance of eco-literacy. A consistent thread throughout the book is that informed and engaged citizens are key to better governance.

The book is a clear-eyed yet ultimately optimistic assessment of citizens’ ability to govern for sustainability. By highlighting both obstacles and opportunities, State of the World 2014 shows how to effect change within and beyond the halls of government. This volume will be especially useful for policymakers, environmental nonprofits, students of environmental studies, sustainability, or economics—and citizens looking to jumpstart significant change around the world.

• Climate
• Environment
• Governance
• Species loss
• Sustainability

• Worldwatch Institute, Washington District of Columbia, USA

  Worldwatch Institute

Founded in 1974 by farmer and economist Lester Brown, Worldwatch was the first independent research institute devoted to the analysis of global environmental concerns. Worldwatch quickly became recognized by opinion leaders around the world for its accessible, fact-based analysis of critical global issues. Now under the leadership of population expert and author Robert Engelman, Worldwatch develops innovative solutions to intractable problems, emphasizing a blend of government leadership, private sector enterprise, and citizen action that can make a sustainable future a reality.

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