A timely collection examining a diverse region's environmental shifts

East Asia hosts a fifth of the world's population and consumes over half the world's coal, a quarter of its petroleum products, and a tenth of its natural gas. It also produces a third of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, making it a major contributor to climate change. The region-whose countries share ecological, sociocultural, and political characteristics while varying in size, resource wealth, history, and political systems-offers excellent insights into the complex dynamics influencing environmental politics, advocacy, and policy. With essays addressing Japan after Fukushima, coal plants and wind turbines in China, environmental activism in Taiwan, and sustainable rural development in South Korea, Greening East Asia explores a region's shift from development to "eco-development" in acknowledgment that environmental sustainability is a critical component of economic growth.

A timely collection examining a diverse region's environmental shifts

About the Author

Ashley Esarey is assistant professor of political science at the University of Alberta. Mary Alice Haddad is professor of government, East Asian studies, and environmental studies at Wesleyan University. Joanna I. Lewis is associate professor of energy and environment at Georgetown University. Stevan Harrell is professor emeritus of anthropology and environmental and forest sciences at the University of Washington. The other contributors are Daniel Benjamin Abramson, Simon Avenell, Hsi-Wen Chang (Lenglengman Rovaniyaw), Hua-mei Chiu, Jingyun Dai, Iza Ding, Rob Efird, Hwa-Sheng Gau, Chung Ho Kim, Eunjung Lim, Hui-Nien Lin, Dau-Jye Lu, Kurtis Jia-Chyi Pei, Noriko Sakamoto, Anthony J. Spires, Sasala Taiban, and Yves Tiberghien.

Reviews

"[W]ill be of interest to scholars and policy makers of East Asia who are interested in theoretical frameworks to explicate the transitions in this part of the world."

* Journal of Chinese Political Science *

"[A] timely effort to integrate our understanding of environmental action in four major countries of East Asia. This book steps beyond the democracy/autocracy binary to point out the many ways that they have followed a similar development pathway, just at different times. This volume offers three commonalities"

* China Quarterly *

"[A] truly interdisciplinary endeavour that contributes to environmental and Asian studies. Given the relative paucity of edited materials that explicitly apply a comparative lens to East Asia's environment, this is a much-welcomed scholarly intervention. Besides the impressive breadth of topics, this brilliantly edited collection ensures that the chapters are not only in conversation with each other, but also consistently engaged with the eco-developmentalism concept. Such strong cohesion enhances a reader's sense of being able to piece together a fascinating yet complex picture of environmental governance and advocacy in East Asia."

* Pacific Affairs *

"[A] highly readable volume...Given its relevance to the ongoing climate emergency, this book should interest scholars, activists, and policy makers of the region and beyond."

* Pacific Affairs *



Book Information
ISBN 9780295747910
Author Ashley Esarey
Format Paperback
Page Count 344
Imprint University of Washington Press
Publisher University of Washington Press
Weight(grams) 476g