Planetary Accounting

This book presents a novel way to enable people, regardless of their scale of influence, to take responsibility for global environmental problems including climate change. It introduces a new framework called Planetary Accounting, which allows the Planetary Boundaries, non-negotiable limits for the environment, to be translated into limits for human activity. It shows how such limits can be broken down into chunks that can be managed at different levels (from individual and community, to business and sector levels, to cities and regions), and at any level of government.

Addresses the political and behavioural as well as the scientific problems that we are facing today

Part 1: Introduction.- Chapter 1: The science of anthropogenic climate change.- Chapter 2: The Holocene, the Anthropocene, and the Planetary Boundaries.- Chapter 3: Managing the Earth System - Why we Need a Poly-Scalar Approach.- Chapter 4: Environmental Accounting, Absolute Limits, and Systemic Change.- Chapter 5: Resolving the Disconnect between Earth System Science, Management Theory, and Environmental Accounting.- Part 2: Developing Planetary Quotes.- Chapter 6: Translating the Planetary Boundaries into Planetary Quotas.- Chapter 7: A Planetary Quota for Carbon Dioxide.-Chapter 8: A Quota for Agricultural GHG Emissions (Methane and Nitrous Oxide).- Chapter 9: A Quota for Forestland.- Chapter 10: A Quota for Ozone Depleting Substances.- Chapter 11: A Quota for Aerosols.- Chapter 12: A Quota for Water.- Chapter 13: A Quota for Nitrogen.- Chapter 14: The Phosphorus Quota.- Chapter 15: The Biodiversity Quota.- Chapter 16: The Imperishable Waste Quota. Part 3: The planetary Accounting Framework.- Chapter 17: The Planetary Accounting Framework.