Book Chapters

Posted on December 14, 2018January 24, 2019 by peadarkirby

2017: ‘Pope Francis on Power, Politics and the Techno-Economic Paradigm’ in Sean McDonagh, ed.: Laduato Si’: An Irish Response. Essays on the Pope’s Letter on the Environment, Dublin: Veritas, pp. 125-36. 2017: ‘Cloughjordan Ecovillage: Modelling the transition to a low-carbon society’, in Ernest Garcia, Mercedes Martinez-Iglesias and Peadar Kirby, eds: Transitioning to a Post-carbon Society: Degrowth, Austerity and Wellbeing, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 183-205. 2015: ‘Transitioning to a low-carbon society: The challenges for local authorities’, in Deiric Ó Broin and Peadar Kirby, eds: Local Authorities and Climate Change, Dublin: Glasnevin Publishing, pp. 55-69. 2015: ‘Ireland’s Boom-Bust Cycles: The Elusive Search for a Balanced…

This book addresses the global need to transition to a low-carbon society and economy by 2050. The authors interrogate the dominant frames used for understanding this challenge and the predominant policy approaches for achieving it. Highlighting the techno-optimism that informs our current understanding and policy options, this book written by Peadar Kirby and Tadhg O’Mahony draws on the lessons of international development to situate the transition within a political economy framework. Assisted by thinking on future scenarios, they critically examine the range of pathways being implemented by both developed and developing countries, identifying the prevailing forms of climate capitalism led by technology. Based on evidence that this is inadequate to achieve a low-carbon and sustainable society, the authors identify an alternative approach. This advance emerges from community initiatives, discussions on postcapitalism and debates about wellbeing and degrowth. The re-positioning of society and environment at the core of development can be labelled “ecosocialism” – a concept which must be tempered against the conditions created by Trumpism and Brexit.