This book is a welcome addition to the literature on global environmental politics. Research on global environmental politics is well established, and within this branch of political science a number of excellent overview texts have been written on the politics of the global environment. However, students of the global political economy of the environment have lacked a comprehensive and accessible text until the publication of this book. Furthermore, many chapters on this subject in textbooks have narrowed the field to discussion of regime formation and the salience of institutional structures. While Jennifer Clapp and Peter Dauvergne recognize the importance of institutional arrangements, their focus is on the intersection between economic process and environmental problems. The book consists essentially of three main sections. The first section provides the theoretical framework, the second investigates the relationship between globalization and the environment, and the final section provides a number of case studies of the political economy of environmental change.

The first section is perhaps the most innovative part the text. Clapp and Dauvergne begin from the recognition that environmental problems are complex (and contested) and are shaped by technical, scientific, socioeconomic, and political forces. They argue that answers to key questions concerning the political economy of the environment often reveal “an almost endless stream of contradictory explanations and evidence” (p. 3). In order to provide the reader with a pathway through this maze of contradictions, the authors proffer four “worldviews” on the relationship between the global political economy and global environmental change. These worldviews constitute the core of the theoretical framework of the book. Faced with such a typology, the reader has to ask whether such classifications are helpful and to what extent they are utilized in a manner that enhances the analysis of the text. I think that the answers to both questions are positive.

We are aware that in the academic literature and in policy debates, contrasting positions are frequently outlined and supported with a plethora of “scientific” support and passionate argumentation. In the contemporary world, no serious analyst or policymaker is against sustainable development. And if we accept that these views are held sincerely, it is important to distinguish among competing perspectives and to understand their key assumptions and values. The four competing worldviews outlined—market liberals, institutionalists, bioenvironmentalists, and social greens—provide an account of the key assumptions and values of competing positions and take us beyond conventional classifications, which make distinctions between technocentric and ecocentric approaches, and/or between environmental and ecological perspectives on political economy. Arguably, the authors' decision to include or exclude certain thinkers (academics, policymakers, and activists) is likely to provoke debate, but the important issue is not whether specific individuals have been included or excluded but rather whether the categories themselves are sufficiently comprehensive. I think that the four worldviews do serve to illuminate and clarify an understanding of the political economy of global environmental politics. This feat is achieved through the comprehensive nature of the worldviews and the subtle and nuanced manner with which they are deployed in the text. Clapp and Dauvergne recognize that these worldviews are heuristic devices and that in the real world, there are elements of overlap among the categories as well as divergences within each worldview.

In Chapters 2 and 3, the authors explore the relationship between globalization and environmental change. First, they begin with a clear statement of the “globalization is real” thesis. Second, they then proceed to investigate the myriad ways in which globalizing processes intersect with environmental change through the theoretical lens outlined in the previous chapter. That is, they show how market liberals, institutionalists, bioenvironmentalists, and social greens approach these issues. Thirdly, the authors focus on the globalization of environmentalism, describing the evolution of global concern with environmental issues. Historically, international attention to environmental issues is a reflection of humanity's impact on natural resources and the environment, and ideas concerning human-societal and human-environmental linkages. This discussion highlights the role of agency, notably the input of states, corporations, and civic associations in contributing to global environmental governance. It was surprising that the authors ignored the importance of environmental crises and catastrophes in fostering the globalization of environmentalism.

The final and major section of the book examines the relationship between four structures of the global political economy—inequality, trade, investment and finance—and global environmental change. The authors investigate the complex linkages between global wealth distribution, patterns and organization of trade, location of production, and flows of financial transfers and global environmental change. One of the strengths of the text is the careful manner with which the authors discuss competing claims and manage to achieve sufficient breadth of treatment without sacrificing depth. The discussions in these chapters are clear, accurate, and balanced. Each chapter adeptly summarizes the main issues for debate, the roles of various actors, and the ways in which the four worldviews interrogate the key issues. Moreover, the authors are skilled in showing some of the limitations of the worldviews when applied to concrete issues. This synthesis of competing perspectives on the impact of poverty, the trading system, global investment, and international finance on the global environment forces the reader to question his or her assumptions and to recognize the complexity of the issues under scrutiny.

This is an excellent general introduction to the political economy of the global environment. Its organization is clear, the writing is lucid, and its coverage is wide-ranging. Clapp and Dauvergne have made a valuable contribution to the study of the political economy of the environment through their articulation and development of the four worldviews, and their recognition and intelligent analysis of diversity. Paths to a Green World is a bold, imaginative, and thoughtful book that should become a standard introduction to the political economy of global environmental change.