The Plundered Planet

Paul Collier's "The Bottom Billion" had a profound impact on our thinking about global poverty. Now, with "The Plundered Planet", he has set himself an even more ambitious goal: to reconcile the immediate needs of the world's burgeoning population with a sustainable environmental future. Is it possible to continue to feed and clothe ourselves without despoiling the planet for future generations? Can the poorest nations harness the economic opportunities that natural resources provide for long-term economic growth? How does our treatment of agriculture and fisheries need to change? Is there a fair and effective way to deal with the world's carbon emissions? What kind of framework do we need to deal with all these issues? The world's response to these questions has, to date, been incredibly unimpressive. Collier shows how the extreme and contrasting impulses of unchecked profiteering - by individuals, corporations and governments - and backward-looking environmental romanticism have so far thwarted any constructive cooperation. Here he provides an ethical framework on which to agree future policy. And, based on his own ground-breaking research into these issues, he offers realistic and sustainable solutions. The chains of decision-making required are subtle and fragile but, as he argues persuasively, these are policies that governments and corporations around the world urgently need to adopt. Collier demonstrates, above all else, that our economic and environmental interests are not in fact competing; they are mutually dependent and we we will not be able to survive unless we reconcile them now. "The Plundered Planet" represents a paradigm-changing intervention and should be essential reading for anyone concerned about our future on this planet.

ISBN 1846142237   Pages 288 ISBN13 9781846142239 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 524 Publisher Penguin Books Ltd   Published in London Imprint Allen Lane   Height (mm) 240 Format Hardback   Width (mm) 162 Publication date 06 May 2010   Spine width (mm) 28 DEWEY 333.72   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22

In this path-breaking book, Paul Collier develops one of the most fascinating subjects he touched on in The Bottom Billion-- the resource curse. It will be of great interest to all those who are concerned about the future of our civilization -- George Soros Paul Collier has written with great insight about the prospects of the bottom billion. In The Plundered Planet, he addresses himself to the complex opportunities, challenges and risks in managing the planet's natural resources. The bottom billion have a huge stake and an important role in the outcomes. Collier helps us see these issues through their eyes -- Michael Spence, Winner Of The Nobel Prize In Economics Read this book -- Sir Nicholas Stern, Author Of The Stern Review On The Economics Of Climate Change Original, important and always thought-provoking. I learned a lot -- Tim Harford, Author Of The Undercover Economist And The Logic Of Life Collier's arguments are compassionate and convincing, and his straightforward explanations of economic principles are leavened with humor and impressively accessible Publishers Weekly Paul Collier must be read if one is to begin to understand the complexity of the most vital contemporary arguments. In this book Collier takes up where he left off with hugely important Bottom Billion and proposes carefully thought through solutions to the big one - how are we going to make it? -- Bob Geldof

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