This chapter examines the history of social democracy as an ideology implemented by a strategy of incremental reforms. It considers the purely electoral prospects of social democratic parties and asks whether it matters that they are in office. It then summarizes the current situation of social democracy. Finally, thinking about the future, it focuses on reactions of this movement to the spectre of climate change.

This chapter analyses the Federal Reserve’s mandate and statutory objectives and how they have evolved since the Fed was established in 1913, and considers the mandate in the context of environmental and social sustainability challenges. The chapter argues that the Fed’s mandate and statutory objectives historically were interpreted broadly to allow discretion for the Fed and its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to manage monetary policy in support of Government policy. The chapter further argues that the legislative history behind the adoption of the dual mandate to achieve price stability and full employment allows the FOMC and the Board of Governors discretion to use their powers to mitigate the risks emanating from the broader economy and society that might impact the price stability and full employment objectives. Despite the conventional interpretation by Fed officials that the Fed ‘should stick to its knitting’ by focusing on short-to-medium term risks to price stability, the chapter concludes that the economic evidence is compelling that climate finance risks and other sustainability challenges can undermine price stability and full employment and therefore should be factored into the Fed’s monetary policy and financial stability strategy.

This concluding chapter looks ahead to the challenges facing the economies of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The three countries have several challenges in common, including the threat of climate change, the low status of women and the potential of artificial intelligence and robotics to undermine badly needed jobs for their young and growing populations. There are some differences: women’s participation in the labour force is rising in Bangladesh, falling in India and lowest in Pakistan. Bangladesh and India have been on good growth trajectories for the last few decades, but Pakistan’s growth has been slower and less stable. We see many opportunities for research. On the one hand there are neglected areas, such as the princely states of colonial India. On the other hand, the digital revolution has made historical and present-day sources, including data, far more accessible.

The chapter analyses how the climate change action plan developed by the European Central Bank (ECB) as part of its monetary policy strategy review in 2020-2021 is aligned with the ECB’s mandate set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty on European Union. The Treaties require the ECB to integrate climate change considerations into its monetary policy and to contribute to the EU’s objectives regarding climate change, as established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, the European Climate Law. However, there are also legal limits on the action the ECB can take in this field. The chapter examines the key measures proposed as part of the plan from a legal perspective, including measures related to macroeconomic forecasts and models, the collection of statistical information for climate change risk analysis, the enhancement of risk assessment capabilities, asset purchase programmes, and possible changes to the collateral framework. It also considers the questions regarding the ECB’s democratic legitimacy and accountability that arise in this context.

Despite the neoliberal wave solidarity capitalism has remained important in Europe. Since it was impossible to tame capitalism globally, promoters of solidarity turned to the European Union, and strove to strengthen its ‘flanking’ welfare state. The early 1990s brought a first peak of international awareness regarding environmental protection and interest in social Europe, but that was shattered by a neoliberal reaction from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s. Since then, social and environmental policies have been on the rise again, only to be challenged by the Russo-Ukrainian War. Three expressions of solidarity will be examined. The first deals with the legal regulation of globalisation through social legislation and trade regulation. The second involves financial redistribution towards the neediest, with transfers to poor regions (cohesion policy), and later with specific measures during the Covid-19 crisis (2020–21). The third addresses the rising importance of environmental regulation in general (air and water pollution, biodiversity, etc.), especially with regard to climate change (Kyoto Protocol, 2015 Paris Agreement), despite the lobbying of the ‘Merchants of Doubts’.

This chapter explores “trust-rights” climate litigation, claiming sovereign obligations to protect the atmosphere, public rights to climate stability, or both. It begins with scholarly consideration of these strategies, reviewing sources of environmental rights, application of public trust principles to climate, and critiques of the atmospheric trust. It reveals the hidden duality of trust-rights climate claims as a pairing of reciprocal rights and duties. Then it reviews the explosion of trust-rights climate advocacy around the world, including the conclusion in Urgenda Foundation v. Netherlands that the nation had failed its duty under the European Convention on Human Rights to limit contributions to climate change; the failed attempt in Juliana v. United States to partner an atmospheric trust claim with constitutional rights asserted under the Due Process Clause; and a new generation of advocacy to build trust-rights principles into U.S. state constitutions. Finally, it considers the arguments against – and in favor of – trust-rights advocacy, addressing both constitutional concerns about the separation of powers and practical concerns about bringing uncertain impact litigation.

This chapter, the first to our knowledge, examines whether central banks in Caribbean small island states have the necessary legal and institutional frameworks to achieve the global central banking community’s pledge to contribute to net-zero and safeguard financial stability from climate change. We find that the legal mandates of the central banks studied do not extend to climate change or sustainability. However, climate-related risks, if qualified as financial risks, fall within their financial stability mandate. Further, the path to net-zero is limited by the existing internal capacity of central banks, which is not geared towards climate science. This is not surprising since climate change has fairly recently moved beyond the acceptable risk tolerance of central banks, and only now is a response being fashioned. We argue that the region faces a high boundary risk with respect to net-zero. We note that even if Caribbean central banks are equipped with a mandate and policy tools to address climate change, net-zero may still not be achievable where climate change public policies are absent or not fully articulated. Further, Caribbean economies carry a heavy weighting to climate-sensitive or carbon-relevant sectors. Hence, net-zero may only be achieved with the involvement of committed governments.

Central banks are promising a more climate-based focus on matters ranging from communication to prudential regulation and supervision, including monetary policy. The chapter examines the various arguments that analyze whether the European Central Bank (ECB) can tackle climate change, in light of its mandates. In our view, climate change fits within the narrower central bank mandates, focused on price stability, while other ‘peripheral’ mandates and ‘transversal’ environmental principles can play a supporting role. Prudential regulation and supervision can also be a main point for assimilation. Finally, we examine the considerations of courts of climate change when scrutinizing governmental action and compare them to the considerations of courts of ECB acts. We conclude that the integration of sustainability considerations, and especially climate change, into the ECB price stability mandate seems to be on relatively firm legal ground.

The hypothesis at the outset of this contribution is that the position of central banks as independent non-majoritarian institutions needs to be reconsidered to the extent that they actively engage in climate change mitigation activities. It is argued that greening monetary policy calls for a reassessment of the democratic legitimacy of central banks, where the constitutional position of central banks has been informed by the model of the conservative independent central banker and justified by the specificity of their mandate and the vulnerability of monetary policy to political tempering. This also applies to the European Central Bank, whereby the question arises whether climate change mitigation should be delegated to independent central banks in the first place and, if so, what the challenges are in securing their democratic legitimacy for engaging in such activities. It is argued that a clear task must be left for the democratic institutions to take the necessary political decisions and to undertake the necessary balancing of interests in making the distributional choices necessary to effectively address climate change. The latter must not be left to non-majoritarian institutions.

Fundamental rights increasingly determine the balance between public and private interests within both market regulation and private law, shaping the relationship between these two forms of legal discourse. This chapter takes stock of the case law of national, international, and supranational courts on the horizontal effect of fundamental rights and explores the potential of such rights to contribute to reconciliation between market regulation and private law. It shows that fundamental rights can play a double role in this context. On the one hand, fundamental rights can reinforce the regulatory dimension of private law, prompting courts to rebalance the interests of the parties to private law relationships in the light of public virtues. On the other hand, fundamental rights can enable courts to bring regulatory measures in line with the traditional private law reasoning focused on individual preferences and interpersonal justice. In both instances, courts may step beyond what the EU or national legislators intended to achieve through public regulation in terms of reorienting private law relationships towards the common good or enhancing interpersonal justice. Fundamental rights thus serve as a two-way bridge between market regulation and private law.

This chapter details the vital role of Indigenous trade and investment in promoting sustainable development. Firstly, it discusses the prerequisite for Indigenous trade, emphasizing a nation-building approach centred on the significance of robust tribal infrastructure. The chapter then addresses the barriers hindering Indigenous inter-tribal trade, including state, or provincial interference in tribal jurisdiction, poor tribal governance, Canada’s failure to honour its Jay Treaty obligations, the lack of Indigenous foreign trade zones, the exclusion of Indigenous traditional knowledge (TK) from intellectual property (IP) regimes, and historical challenges in trade financing. Additionally, the chapter explores Indigenous trade and commerce engagements with non-Indigenous enterprises, both with and without federal permission, highlighting the implications, challenges, and opportunities involved. By examining these aspects, the chapter advocates for empowering Indigenous nations through trade and investment, fostering economic opportunities while preserving cultural heritage, and working towards sustainable development by creating a strong economic baseline.

This chapter presents a case study of Canada, examining the intricate relationship between Indigenous peoples and the developments related to British, then Canadian, governance. It begins by exploring the historical and legal context within which Indigenous peoples exist in Canada, tracing the impact of colonization and the recognition of Indigenous rights. The chapter then investigates the potential for affirming these rights through treaties and trade agreements, highlighting the role of treaties in recognizing and protecting Indigenous rights and the opportunities and challenges presented by trade agreements for Indigenous economic development and self-determination. It further analyses the Canadian government’s efforts to domestically enforce the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the intersection of Canadian treaties with trade agreements. This chapter emphasizes the importance of ongoing dialogue, collaboration, and the implementation of measures aligned with UNDRIP principles to foster the recognition, empowerment, and well-being of Indigenous peoples within the Canadian context.

To open this eceletic book of ideas, we present the key themes and ask the question, Is our education system providing the right opportunities, knowledge and skills to empower children and young people to thrive on planet Earth? Introducing the concept of the series, we explain that there seem to be three existential uncertainties - the climate and environmental crises, fractured communities and insecurities about self and purpose - that require a diverse collection of voices and their ideas to bridge academia with the practitoner wisdom in classrooms.