In this book, “Beyond Politics: the private governance response to climate change”, Michael P. Vandenbergh and Jonathan M. Gilligan talk about the role of private firms as leaders in helping to cut emissions. “They point to the technical potential for reducing emissions, along with two other factors. One factor is what they call “behavioral plasticity”—the extent to which firms and households can actually change their behavior. The other is “initiative feasibility”—defined as whether firms and householders are “able to develop and implement the initiatives quickly and easily without confronting barriers that will slow down or reduce emissions reductions.” Book and media reviews from the journal Science, edited by Valerie Thompson.
For decades, most scholars and policy-makers have assumed that serious solutions to the problem of global climate change will require highly effective government. According to this perspective, only government can represent the broadest public interest. Only government can mandate deep cuts in emissions and work with other governments around the world to achieve international coordination of national policies.