Abstract
Under the current trend, the world is on track towards an extreme greenhouse state that threatens to destroy human civilization and nearly all forms of life on Earth. Without an end to economic growth, it is virtually impossible for meaningful climate stabilization to be achieved. However, both capitalist enterprises and states are constantly driven to expand production and consumption. The climate change crisis is but one of several long-term historical trends that are now leading to the structural crisis of capitalism. The resolution of the crisis and the survival of humanity require the building of a fundamentally different social system.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Arrighi
G.
Silver
B. J.
. 1999 . Chaos and governance in the modern world system . Minneapolis and London : University of Minnesota Press .
2.Climate Action Tracker . 2010 . High chance to exceed 3°C despite recent developments . Available online at http://www.climateactiontracker.org .
3.
Conner
S.
McCarthy
M.
2009 . World heads for 6°C rise . The Independent , November 18 . Available online at http://countercurrents.org/connor181109.htm .
4.Earth Policy Institute . 2008 . Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning, 1751–2006 . Available online at http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/data_center/C23/ .
5.
Engels
F.
1978[1880] . Socialism: Utopian and scientific . In The Marx-Engels reader , ed.
Tucker
R. C.
, 683 –717 . New York : W. W. Norton & Company .
6.European Environment Agency . 2009 . Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations—assessment, March . Available online at http://themes.eea.europa.eu/IMS/IMS/ISpecs/ISpecification20041007131717/IAssessment1234255180259/view_content .
7.Guardian . 2009 . Copenhagen climate summit: Five possible scenarios for our future climate . Guardian , December 18 . Available online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/18/copenhagen-five-climate-scenarios .
8.Guardian . 2010 . Open letter: Climate change and the integrity of science . Guardian , May 6 . Available online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/06/climate-science-open-letter .
9.
Hansen
J.
. 2008 . Target atmospheric CO2: Where should humanity aim? Available online at http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/ .
10.
Huesemann
M. H.
2003 . The limits of technological solutions to sustainable development . Clean Technology and Environmental Policy 5 : 21 –34 .
11.IEA. International Energy Agency . 2009 . World energy outlook 2009 . Available online at www.worldenergyoutlook.org/docs/weo2009/WEO2009_es_english.pdf .
12.IPCC. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . 2007a . Climate change 2007: Synthesis report (summary for policy makers) . Available online at www.ipcc.ch .
13.IPCC. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . 2007b . A report of Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , ch. 3 (Issues related to mitigation in the long-term context) . Available online at www.ipcc.ch .
14.
Kotz
D. M.
with
Weir
F.
1997 . Revolution from above . London and New York : Routledge .
15.
Li
M.
2008 . The rise of China and the demise of the capitalist world economy . London : Pluto Press ; New York : Monthly Review Press .
16.
Lovelock
J.
2009 . James Lovelock thinks humanity has only one remaining option to halt climate change and save ourselves . Available online at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126921.500-one-last-chance-to-save-mankind.html?full=true .
17.
Maddison
A.
2003 . The world economy: Historical statistics . Paris : Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development .
18.
Magdoff
F.
Foster
J. B.
2010 . What every environmentalist needs to know about capitalism . Monthly Review 61 (10 ): 1 –30 .
19.
Navarro
V.
1993 . Has socialism failed? An analysis of health indicators under capitalism and socialism . Science & Society 57 : 6 –30 .
20.
Pfeiffer
D. A.
2006 . Eating fossil fuels . Gabriola Island, British Columbia : New Society Publishers .
21.
Spratt
D.
Sutton
P.
2008 . Climate code red: The case for a sustainability emergency . Available online at http://www.climatecodered.net .
22.
Stern
N.
2006 . Review on the economics of climate change . Available online at http://www.sternreview.org.uk .
23.
Stiglitz
J.
1994 . Whither socialism? Cambridge, MA : The MIT Press .
24.
Trainer
T.
2007 . Renewable energy cannot sustain a consumer society . Dordrecht, Netherlands : Springer .
25.
Trainer
T.
2009 . The Garnaut, IPCC, and Stern reports: Flawed energy analysis underlying mitigation optimism . Available online at http://ssis.arts.unsw.edu.au/tsw/GARN_IPCC_STERN.html .
26.
Wallerstein
I.
2003 . The decline of American power . New York and London : The New Press .
27.World Bank . 2010 . World development indicators online . Available online at http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators .
28.WWF, ZSL, and GFN. World Wildlife Fund in the USA and Canada, Zoological Society of London, and Global Footprint Network . 2008 . Living planet report 2008 . Available online at http://assets.panda.org/downloads/living_planet_report.pdf .