LONG PROBLEMS

Political strategies for tackling climate change and other long problems that span generationsClimate change and its consequences unfold over many generations Past emissions affect our climate today just as our actions shape the climate of tomorrow while the effects of global warming will last thousands of years Yet the priorities of the present dominate our climate policy and the politics surrounding it Even the social science that attempts to frame the problem does not theorize time effectively In this pathbreaking book Thomas Hale examines the politics of climate change and other long problems He shows why we find it hard to act before a problem s effects are felt why our future interests carry little weight in current debates and why our institutions struggle to balance durability and adaptability With long term goals in mind he outlines strategies for tilting the politics and policies of climate change toward better outcomes Globalization widened political problems across national boundaries and changed our understanding of politics and governance Hale argues that we must make a similar shift to understand the lengthening of problems across time He describes tools and strategies that can under certain conditions allow policymakers to antic