This book examines how climate change is reshaping not just the environment, but also global politics, economies, and societies. Through a systems-level analysis, it demonstrates the link between ecological crises and global capitalism, power struggles, and social movements. The book explains how climate change disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly in the Global South.
Employing world-systems theory and historical analysis, the book explores crucial issues such as fossil fuel dependence, global trade, urbanization, and resistance movements. The book also discusses the roles of Indigenous communities, youth activism, and grassroots efforts in striving for a fairer, more sustainable future. With its case studies and forward-looking insights, this book will appeal to anyone studying or working in the fields of climate justice, sustainability, or global change.
Part I: Theoretical and Historical Foundations.
Chapter
1. Global
Environmental Change and the Evolution of World-Systems Thinking.
Chapter
2.
Capital, Carbon, and the Climate System: Historical Drivers of Ecological
Crisis.
Chapter
3. Climate as Structure and Process: A Systems Perspective
on Ecological Transformation.
Chapter
4. The Energy Transition in Historical
Perspective: From Biomass to Fossil Fuels and Beyond.- Part II: Regional
Dynamics and Systemic Inequalities.
Chapter
5. Climate Change and the
Reproduction of Global Inequality.
Chapter
6. Peripheral Ecologies:
Environmental Degradation at the Margins of the World-System.
Chapter
7.
Ecological Imperialism Revisited: Land Grabs, Resource Frontiers, and Global
Demand.
Chapter
8. Urban Metabolism and the Global South: Climate Change and
Infrastructural Fragility.- Part III: Actors, Institutions, and Movements.-
Chapter
9. Hegemony and Climate Governance: Core States, Agreements, and the
Limits of Multilateralism.
Chapter
10. Resistance from the Periphery:
Indigenous, Peasant, and Climate Justice Movements.
Chapter
11. Youth,
Crisis, and Systemic Change: Generational Agency in a Warming World.
Chapter
12. Corporate Climate Strategies and the Future of Green Capitalism.- Part
IV: Futures and Transformations.
Chapter
13. Modeling Future Climate and
World-System Interactions: Risk, Collapse, and Adaptation.
Chapter
14.
Toward a Just Energy Transition: Policy, Power, and Post-Carbon Futures.
Matthew Chidozie Ogwu is an Assistant Professor of Integrated Ecology and Sustainable Development at Appalachian State University, USA. He advances interdisciplinary research at the interface of ecology, sustainability, and society. His work examines how environmental changeparticularly climate stressors, air pollution, food insecurity, resource management, and biodiversity lossinteracts with social and economic systems, supported by complementary expertise in microbial ecology and applied environmental assessment. He has participated in international collaborations, including EU-funded biodiversity projects, and brings a strong record of teaching, mentorship, and cross-sector engagement. Dr. Ogwus research and editorial work focus on developing evidence and frameworks to support climate justice, resilient communities, and policy innovation across the Global North and Global South.
Sylvester Chibueze Izah is a Faculty Member at Bayelsa Medical University, Nigeria, where he also serves as Assistant Director of Academic Planning, Research, and Innovations. A licensed environmental health specialist, he focuses on sustainable human-environmental health interactions, including air, soil, and water quality, toxicology, sanitation, food science, waste management, and biodiversity. His interdisciplinary expertise and prolific scholarship make him a key voice in environmental health and sustainability research.
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