Beyond the coal rush : a turning point for global energy and climate policy? / James Goodman, University of Technology Sydney [and ten others].

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The global contest over coal and development -- India: coercion, impunity and the fight for Adivasi rights in Chhattisgarh -- Australia: contesting coal capital on the Liverpool Plains -- Germany: globalizing the local to reach the national, protest against coal in the Lausitz -- Foundations for the coal rush: the post-war 'coal-industrial complex' -- Kyoto and the coal boom: coal's climate contradictions -- Coal in a climate-constrained world: the last gasp? -- Concluding chapter: dynamics for a post-coal future.

"Climate change makes fossil fuels unburnable, yet global coal production has almost doubled over the last 20 years. This book explores how the world can stop mining coal - the most prolific source of greenhouse gas emissions. It documents efforts at halting coal production, focusing specifically on how campaigners are trying to stop coal mining in India, Germany, and Australia. Through in-depth comparative ethnography, it shows how local people are fighting to save their homes, livelihoods, and environments, creating new constituencies and alliances for the transition from fossil fuels. The book relates these struggles to conflicts between global climate policy and the national coal-industrial complex. With coal's meaning transformed from an important asset to a threat, and the coal industry declining, it charts reasons for continuing coal dependence, and how this can be overcome. It will provide a source of inspiration for energy transition for researchers in environment, sustainability, and politics, as well as policymakers"--