Review in Environmental Forum

Mixing Private Action and Climate Policy Distinguishing government from governance, identifying the separate yet complementary roles of the private and public spheres, say, in the realm of environmental management, and thinking seriously about the opportunities and barriers of an integrated or collaborative approach to confronting the challenges of the day—none of this would have made any sense to a citizen of the Roman Empire in the time of Augustus.

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Review by Dan Farber

Going Private: Climate Action by Businesses and Individuals This is a review of a new book by Michael Vandenbergh and Jonathan Gilligan, Beyond Politics: The Private Governance Response to Climate Change. They make a persuasive case that private initiatives in this area have been underestimated. The review seeks to build on their analysis in two ways. First, it examines what features of private action make it more or less a form of “governance,” and it suggests some ways the private sector could move further toward regulatory governance.

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Review in Nature Climate Change

Time to Re-Think Solutions

For people working to address climate change, there is certainly no viable alternative to reading this book. Beyond Politics presses readers to think beyond their current conception of climate change solutions and, while laying out a reasoned private governance response accompanied by a realistic assessment of its limitations, provides the groundwork for future research and initiatives to reduce emissions.

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Review in Science Magazine

Faced with government inaction, private firms emerge as major players in climate mitigation

In a thoughtful and far-ranging new book, Michael P. Vandenbergh and Jonathan M. Gilligan turn that view upside down. Both from Vanderbilt University—Vandenbergh a lawyer and Gilligan a professor of civil and environmental engineering—the authors help explain why firms from Coca-Cola to UPS are motivated to be leaders in cutting emissions.

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