This chapter explores the relationship between international trade and sustainable development, with a particular focus on climate change. It traces the evolution of the multilateral trading system from its origins in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to the present day, highlighting the shift from a focus on trade liberalisation to a broader commitment to sustainable development. The chapter examines how the World Trade Organization has grappled with integrating environmental concerns into its framework, including the development of ‘greening’ jurisprudence, institutions, and rules. It proposes a reform agenda to further align the trading system with global sustainability goals, emphasising the need for alignment with climate change commitments, harmonised sustainability standards, reformed subsidy approaches, governance and institutional reforms, and a focus on equity and justice.

This chapter discusses the relationship between WTO law and other public international law (PIL), focusing on the interpretation of WTO law through the lens of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). It examines how WTO dispute settlement bodies have approached non-WTO law, particularly in the context of treaty interpretation and potential conflicts between legal regimes. The chapter argues that while the VCLT provides a framework for interpretation, it has limitations in addressing conflicts between different agreements, as illustrated by the interaction between the Paris Agreement and the WTO. The authors contend that legislative solutions within the WTO are necessary to address these conflicts and ensure the WTO’s continued relevance in the face of global challenges like climate change.

This chapter examines the intersection of militarism, climate change, and Islamic environmental ethics from a transnational perspective, arguing that the military-industrial complex is a structurally overlooked but significant contributor to global ecological degradation. It critiques the exemption of military emissions from international climate protocols and highlights the disproportionate environmental burdens placed on Muslim-majority countries. Drawing on Quranic principles such as khalīfah (trusteeship), mīzān (balance), and ‘adl (justice), the chapter presents a theological framework that calls for demilitarization and ecological justice. Through case studies from Iraq, Gaza, and Afghanistan, as well as analysis of Islamic legal tools, eco-fatwas, grassroots movements, and green finance instruments, the chapter outlines a holistic response rooted in Islamic teachings. It concludes by advocating for a reconceptualization of national security and climate action that centers spiritual responsibility, ecological stewardship, and transnational solidarity.

This chapter explains why oil companies recently started to embrace citizen mobilization after a long history of avoiding such outreach. It shows that while the coalescing climate movement and the availability of new online tools for organizing have played important roles in this shift, the proliferation of new government forums for citizen input in the regulation of fossil fuel projects has been the core driver of the industry’s new approach.

This scholarly exploration examines the Islamic perspective on environmental stewardship, climate change, and ethical resource management through the lens of Shariah (Islamic Sacred Law). Grounded in the principles of Tawhid (divine unity), the article argues that Muslims have a fundamental religious obligation to protect the Earth and its resources as trustees or "Khalifa" (guardians). The text analyzes how Islamic ethical principles, particularly the Maqasid Shariah (higher objectives of sacred law), directly relate to contemporary environmental challenges, especially global warming and fossil fuel consumption.

The author emphasizes that the Islamic worldview inherently promotes ecological consciousness, viewing humans as stewards responsible for just and compassionate management of natural resources. By referencing Quranic injunctions and Prophetic traditions, the article advocates for fossil fuel divestment, renewable energy adoption, and sustainable development. It presents a compelling case that environmental protection is not merely a scientific or political imperative, but a profound spiritual and moral responsibility deeply rooted in Islamic teachings of mercy, justice, and interconnectedness.

The book’s final chapter returns to issues of transparency, arguing that so- called front groups tend to be open secrets of sorts, with their funders or founders rarely fully hidden from view. The chapter demonstrates that oil companies today are apt to use financial transparency as a strategic asset, framing themselves as amplifiers of citizen speech. As oil companies embrace a more open model of citizen organizing, critiques or policy interventions that call for exposing the sponsors of pro-oil campaigns see their relevancy wane. The chapter closes by exploring how scholars and environmental activists might use the empirical insights of previous chapters, particularly the top-down control, internal political fissures, and affective experience of risk by joiners in pro-oil campaigns, to create more just and effective grassroots interventions in climate politics.

This chapter introduces the reader to how the oil industry mobilizes political support from publics. It argues that historically, the sector has shied away from grassroots politics, or employed short-lived, financially secretive front groups. However, today this is changing. Oil firms’ contemporary outreach is apt to take the form of visible, far-reaching, and long-term campaigns that openly tout partnership between companies and citizens. This style of organizing troubles the neat binary between grassroots politics and corporate public relations. To address this, the chapter suggests we think of all political mobilization as “manufactured publics,” emphasizing the strategizing, labor, and mixture of interests inherent in all contentious political efforts. This theoretical lens allows us to explore both the affective realities of people who join pro-oil groups and the corporate interests that shape these campaigns.

This chapter considers Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and William Morris’s New from Nowhere (1890) through the lens of the commons and what counts as “common sense.” Taking its cue from a question Morris poses about art’s role in radical social transformation, the chapter asks if the recent environmental turn in Victorian studies is interested in piecemeal or systemic change. Considering both modes of change, the chapter proposes a “poetry of the commons,” grounded in Carroll’s and Morris’s very different approaches to both the commons and common sense, as an alternative to the market economy and as more accurate approximation of how the commons traditionally worked. Accordingly, Alice and News can be seen as laying the foundations for something like “commons sense” and a practice and poetry of the commons adequate to the demands of the climate crisis.

The environment is almost always a victim in conflict. Conflict activities generally reduce environmental quality, resulting in a loss of ecosystem services that can be cultivated. The environment as degraded covers the range of pathways of environmental degradation from conflict activities, the implications for economic outcomes, and the environmental remediation needed to restore ecosystem functioning.

Chapter 7 examines climate change as a transnational and existential threat to humanity generally, and to certain smaller and vulnerable states most dramatically. Since it poses an existential threat to low-lying coastal states and raises the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, Chapter 7 makes the case that climate change should be understood to trigger duties of international cooperation.

Growing environmental instability around the globe has the potential to contribute to the onset of violent conflict. However, there is rarely a clear, direct causal pathway between environmental change and conflict because these interactions are always mediated by institutions – social norms, governance, and policy. How the environment can be a potential trigger for conflict is a critical part of the environment-conflict nexus. This chapter explores the broad literature on the topic, drawing out where there is more and less consensus and what the implications are for understanding the environment in conflict.

Did Victorian literature prompt political change? This chapter examines Thomas Hood’s “Song of the Shirt” and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “Cry of the Children,” both credited with bringing mass awareness to exploitative labor. But what part did they play in actually changing Victorian society? Levine argues that a single work of art, then as now, does not accomplish change unless it takes part in campaigns that are organized around three social forms: large shows of public support, sustained pressure over time, and specific, well-articulated goals. Analyzing the relations between literary and activist forms not only throws light on Victorian culture but can also help literary scholars now to engage in effective political and social struggle.