Abstract
The paper deals with the descriptive review of the book Sustainability and Energy Politics: Ecological Modernization and Corporate Social Responsibility by Giorel Curran. It deals with the relevant issues that should be solved immediately, namely the role of the ecological modernization and corporate social responsibility to the environmental politics. The paper provides the detailed information regarding the structure of the book and the major purpose for the author to address the stated above issue.
It should be stressed that the connection between the major ideas discussed in the book and relation with the myths of nature seem to be significant to develop. The modern era demands higher ecological awareness and intense development of technologies and certain laws that will contribute to the sustainability and energy sector. However, it should be stressed that the role of the society in the issue should not be undervalued.
Introduction
The book under analysis goes under the title Sustainability and Energy Politics: Ecological Modernization and Corporate Social Responsibility and is written by Giorel Curran. The book is centered on the significance of the changes in the politics with the consideration towards the climate shifts. According to the author, the pivotal key in the shaping of sustainability is considered to be modernization in the sphere of ecology and responsibility of the society.
First and foremost, it should be highlighted that the issues regarding renewable energy sources and saving the environment seem to receive the priority as the condition of the surrounding influences people and have a significant impact on the development of the society. The major purpose of the paper is to provide the in-depth analysis of the stated above book and to center attention on the main ideas and thoughts presented in the work.
General Information
Sustainability and Energy Politics: Ecological Modernization and Corporate Social Responsibility was published in 2015 by the Palgrave Macmillan. This book draws my attention as it is focused on the fundamental topic, namely the connection between sustainability and energy politics with the modernization of the ecological sphere. Giorel Curran wrote the dissertation regarding the crucial issues of environmental political concepts (Griffith University, n. d.). Now she works as a Senior Lecturer at the Griffith University (Griffith University, n. d.). The researcher bases her works on the detailed analysis of the environmental politics and policy with the consideration of the main political movements.
The case studies described in the book are centered on the energy sector. The industrial development and improvement influenced the environment. That is, the modern climate changes demand an urgent solution with the attention towards the changing of the energy arrangements. The modernization of the industry and energy strategies will consequently lead to the improvement of the surrounding. However, numerous problems prove that the issue demands concentration and attention. The author examines the fossil fuel as one of the major problems.
As the matter of fact, the green movement gains momentum across the globe and has a positive effect on the society. Although the major objective of the green movement is to reach the environmental friendly society, it should be stressed that the movement is represented by different philosophical and political points of view. Giorel Curran examines the environmental reforms and its effects on business and government. However, it should be pointed out that the author makes an accent that government and commerce are not the only essential elements in tackling the problem, as the society should also take an active part in the improvement of the environment.
The case studies described in the book provide the deeper understanding of how countries adjust to the ecological modernization. As the matter of fact, the Giorel Curran highlights that Australia experiences the regression in the corporate social responsibility and ecological modernization. The country has successfully had undergone the changes in the law regarding the tax on carbon, however, addressed to the old system after a while. The United States and Germany are the countries where the green movement is highly developed, and society is responsible for the actions and controls the governmental decisions regarding the politics in the energy sector and sustainability.
Structure of the Book
The book is divided into two parts. It opens with the introduction, where the author states the major objectives and aims. The first part ‘Theorizing Contemporary Sustainability’ falls into three parts, namely ‘Sustainability Today: From Fringe to Mainstream’, ‘Ecological Modernization: Promises and Prospects’, and ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: Business Stepping Up?’ (Curran, 2015). The first chapter outlines the green movement and its effect on the environment. It highlights the importance of the governmental and business attention towards the issue. The author stresses that the United States took an active part in motivating the sustainable development.
The chapter critically examines the relation of the business towards the sustainable development. The second section provides the theory of the ecological modernization and environmental reform. The major point that the chapter addresses to is that certain environmental problems demand larger solution than the innovation of the technologies. First and foremost, taking care of the environment should become the main need of the society as the problem is complex. The third chapter deals with the description of the corporate social responsibility and the awareness of the community.
The Second part is divided into three branches, namely the following ones ‘The Politics of Climate Change: Fight and Flight’, ‘Unconventional Gas and Social License: Locking the Gate’, and ‘Renewable Energy Transitions: Powering the Future?’ (Curran, 2015). The first chapter of the second part is focused on the case studies. The chapter critically examines how the corporate social responsibility is reflected in the modern life and policy of the environmental modernization. It should be stressed that the chapter provides some insights on the policies in the United States and Australia.
Energy security and modernization of the technologies became the major concern of the government in the United States. However, despite the successful implementation of the environmentally friendly laws, the government in Australia changed the law as it used to be. The government took the position of regression. The next chapter provides the reader with the information regarding the connection between the corporate social responsibility, ecological modernization, and gas industry. Gas is considered to be an essential element that is beneficial for the development of the sustainable energy. Unconventional gas became the most discussed issue on the climate debated.
The book makes an accent of the United States and Australia. The last chapter points out the idea of the renewable energy sources and the need for the restructuring of the modern system. The pivotal objective of the ecological modernization is to create the renewable energy. The world consumes more energy with every day, and that is, the ecological modernization should be invested by the government. The chapter also highlights that some countries, for example, Germany, take the path towards new development and environmentally friendly politics, whereas other ones, for example, Australia, follow the regression (Curran, 2015, p. 12). The book ends with conclusions and bibliography.
Author’s Reason for Writing the Book
The major purpose of writing the book is to stress the significance of the topic. As the matter of fact, the issue regarding the environmental policy and controlling the condition of the surrounding seems to be essential and demands urgent actions. The energy sources and arrangements should be appropriate to suit the objective of the environmentally friendly society. The green movement gains momentum as the community realizes the necessity to change the attitude towards nature. The government and modern business institutions understand that further development will be impossible without improvement of the technologies that will beneficially influence the environment.
The author of the book aimed to provide the reader with the necessary information to evaluate the attitude of different countries regarding the corporate social responsibility, ecological modernization, and the role of the politics in tackling the issue. I do not profess to be an expert regarding the subject, but I am strongly convinced that increasing of the awareness may contribute to the positive outcome and will have a positive effect on the social responsibility. The climate changes are the result of the human activity. It is the way nature reacts to the intervention. The Earth is the home for the humankind, and that is, should be taken care of. The development of the environmentally friendly laws and advances in the technologies are only the first step to success.
Connection to the Myth of Nature
The book is highly connected to nature perverse (tolerant) as it aims to stress that nature can react to human activity differently. When the impact is moderate, nature will restore the sources and will adapt to changes, however, it is important to highlight that in the case of larger interference, the consequences may be unpredictable. The government and business realize that sustainability of the environment should receive the priority as “the book contends that the sustainability agenda is today underpinned by two main discourses that fundamentally shape it: ecological modernization and corporate social responsibility” (Curran, 2015, p. 17).
The highly developed countries pay a lot of attention towards changing the laws with the consideration of the environmental protection “most governments – especially in the advanced industrial economies – now have well established environmental management regimes” (Curran, 2015, p. 18). It should be stressed that the green movement was beneficial for the problem as due to their philosophy and activity, the environment received the priority and became the topic of discussion in the government.
The major purpose of the green movement is to protect the nature from the significant interference as the mild impact on nature is understandable and cannot be eliminated whereas unlimited influence caused by industries changes the climate and affects surroundings in a negative way. As the Castells puts it “green movement’s success in highlighting the darker currents modernity, both ecological and social” (Curran, 2015, p. 18). The author of the book makes an accent on the responsible German society and attitude of the government towards nature interference “the German anti-nuclear movement has been particularly successful in generating widespread opposition to nuclear power” (Curran, 2015, p. 164).
It should be pointed out that the anti-nuclear movement was not well supported by the government at first. However, the society and people in general, can influence the government, and that is, it is significantly important to raise the awareness and the level of understanding regarding the environment, social responsibility, and role of the renewable energy sources in the modern world. As the matter of fact, sustainability has already become the pivotal approach. According to the experts, environmental policy is the main governmental concern as the industries affect nature in an adverse way. It should be highlighted that the issue demands the cooperation of the countries.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be pointed out that the book Sustainability and Energy Politics: Ecological Modernization and Corporate Social Responsibility by Giorel Curran aims to increase the awareness of the society regarding the issue of energy politics. The book evaluates the role of the green movement across the globe and how it can affect the process of ecological modernization. First and foremost, it should be stressed that environmental problem received the priority on the governmental and business level.
A number of laws were passed in the United States and Germany to improve the condition of the surroundings. However, it should be stressed that society is the essential element in tackling the issue. Every person should be responsible for all the actions that can affect the environment in a significant way as one should always remember that gross interference into nature will be followed by severe consequences in future.
References
Curran, G. (2015). Sustainability and energy politics: Ecological modernisation and corporate social responsibility. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Griffith University. (n.d.). Web.