The politics of climate change

This article is based on a transcript of a speech by Anthony Giddens that was presented as the twentieth Policy & Politics Annual Lecture on 17 March 2015 at the University of Bristol, UK. Hence it is not as polished as an orthodox article might be. The speech is available online at www.bris.ac.uk/sps/policypolitcs/annuallecture2015/ . It drew in some part upon the successive editions of his book, The politics of climate change (2009; 2011). Giddens looks at the political issues posed by climate change and stresses the fundamental importance and urgency of the problem for global civilization. Four key propositions are presented. First, that climate change needs to be seen as an immediate issue requiring…