Urry, John. 2011. Climate Change & Society. Polity Press, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 217 pages. Giddens, Anthony. 2011. The Politics of Climate Change. Polity Press, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 269 pages.

Abstract

The academic and media discourses on climate change havebeen dominated by the physical or natural sciences and economics.Occasionally the effects (actual and potential) of climate change onthe poorer regions of the world or on poor communities within theseregions have been highlighted, but there has been a distinct lack ofanalysis of the societal processes that have led to their vulnerability inthe first place. These two books attempt to persuade us that the socialsciences generally, not only economics, have much to contribute toour understanding of the causes of climate change, the implications ofclimate change for the future of society, and the way forward to a lowcarbon economy and society.