Review by Dan Farber
Going Private: Climate Action by Businesses and Individuals This is a review of a new book by Michael Vandenbergh and Jonathan Gilligan, Beyond Politics: The Private Governance Response to Climate Change. They make a persuasive case that private initiatives in this area have been underestimated. The review seeks to build on their analysis in two ways. First, it examines what features of private action make it more or less a form of “governance,” and it suggests some ways the private sector could move further toward regulatory governance.Review in Nature Climate Change
Time to Re-Think Solutions
For people working to address climate change, there is certainly no viable alternative to reading this book. Beyond Politics presses readers to think beyond their current conception of climate change solutions and, while laying out a reasoned private governance response accompanied by a realistic assessment of its limitations, provides the groundwork for future research and initiatives to reduce emissions.
Review in Science Magazine
Faced with government inaction, private firms emerge as major players in climate mitigation
In a thoughtful and far-ranging new book, Michael P. Vandenbergh and Jonathan M. Gilligan turn that view upside down. Both from Vanderbilt University—Vandenbergh a lawyer and Gilligan a professor of civil and environmental engineering—the authors help explain why firms from Coca-Cola to UPS are motivated to be leaders in cutting emissions.