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16 - Carbon Markets and International Environmental Governance

from Part IV - Sustainability and Climate Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2020

By
John Chung-En Liu  and
Mark H. Cooper
Edited by
Katharine Legun ,
Julie C. Keller ,
Michael Carolan  and
Michael M. Bell
Katharine Legun
Affiliation:
Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
Julie C. Keller
Affiliation:
University of Rhode Island
Michael Carolan
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
Michael M. Bell
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Madison
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Summary

This chapter reviews sociological perspectives on emissions trading programs for greenhouse gases and reflects on how the study of carbon markets can contribute to concepts and theories central to environmental sociology. Since the emergence of the global climate change regime in the 1990s, carbon markets have been a cornerstone of efforts to govern greenhouse gas emissions. The chapter frames its study of sociological research on carbon markets by examining the origins and development of emissions trading programs and debates about their function within capitalist economies, their effectiveness at achieving emissions reductions, and their implications for environmental justice. Research on carbon markets has also contributed to fundamental debates within environmental sociology and strengthened dialogue between environmental sociology and economic sociology, political sociology, and sociology of science. The chapter analyzes these contributions and reflects on the potential for future studies of carbon markets to advance key debates within the discipline, offer critical perspectives on climate change mitigation policy, and yield practical contributions for the future of environmental governance.

Keywords

climate changeemissions tradingenvironmental policyecological modernizationpolitical economy
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Sociology , pp. 267 - 284
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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