Crisis of Global Sustainability

Tapio Kanninen is Senior Research Fellow at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the Graduate Center of The City University of New York and a Co-Director of the Project on Sustainable Global Governance at RBIIS. A long-time UN staff member Dr. Kanninen was Chief of the Policy Planning Unit in the Department of Political Affairs (1998–2005), Head of the Secretariat of Kofi Annan’s five Summits with Regional Organizations and worked in a UNEP-funded project at the UN Statistical Office on establishing global framework for environmental statistics.

• Introduction 1. The birth and evolution of the Club of Rome: early identification of a global crisis 2. A new way of thinking: the MIT study The Limits to Growth 3. How have the concepts and doctrines of sustainability changed? 4. Intergovernmental action 1972-2012: from Stockholm to Rio plus 20 5. Planetary boundaries: doomsday prophecies or scientific projections? 6. A crisis of institutions: how to manage our interconnected future? 7. Overcoming the crisis of mind and action: creating new institutions and strategies for a global emergency 8. The future: thinking big about global institutions and world governance 9. Epilogue: what should be done?

"The book is scholarly in its depth of analysis, yet manages to be approachable for a general audience. Because of its emphasis on developing policy solutions, it is best suited to policy makers, scholars, and students.Kanninen uses pertinent examples and case studies to illustrate past failings in how individuals and institutions have responded to dire warnings about the Earth’s future. For example, he illustrates how the scientific community may criticize — and reject—innovative solutions or approaches to problems because they run counter to accepted beliefs or methodologies." - Miriam Aczel, Imperial College London, ACUNS