A Livable Planet

The manuscript is extraordinary in its novelty of view, breadth of discussion, detailed scholarship, and ambition. I know of nothing like it, certainly not in philosophy, nothing that takes the Anthropocene itself as the focus of sustained book-length policy discussion... Moreover, it claims that politics and policies that put human rights first are the best, perhaps the only way, to halt political and economic movement towards environmental catastrophe. The centrality and necessity of a human rights approach is novel. * Darrel Moellendorf, Professor of International Political Theory and Professor of Philosophy at Goethe University, Frankfurt *
The ecological package of issues that [Powers] lumps together is convincing and makes an important contribution. So many books today are written about one or other of the elements that he identifies, with only a token nod in the direction of the extent to which they are all interdependent. Taking the several 'crises' together provides a solid foundation for his argument that far-reaching and fundamental reforms are needed. * Philip G. Alston, John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law, New York University School of Law. *
Powers offers a novel and bold approach to climate governance. Many want to score small victories first and then tackle more complex, entrenched issues later. Powers offers a compelling critique of this low hanging fruit approach on both ethical and political grounds. He argues that we must first address the most serious practices that violate safe operating margins and thereby pose the greatest risk of destabilizing planetary systems. His approach is grounded on the priority that should be given to socioeconomic and human rights and structural ecological rights. Powers deftly brings the notions of sustainability, resilience, and social justice together, and shows that the priority targets of climate governance should be those that are the most damaging and unjust. * Bruce Jennings, Vanderbilt University Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society *