Climate and Cultural Choice: Social Pathways to Mitigation

Robert H. Winthrop (Author)

ISBN: 9781041263982

Published: 21 September 2026

Format: Hardcover, 298 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Routledge (Routledge Advances in Climate Change Research)

Description

Why is humanity losing ground in the fight against climate change, and what more can actually be done? Robert H. Winthrop argues that the dominant framing of climate change as a conventional environmental problem, to be defined and solved by technical experts, has left citizens disengaged, polarised and stuck in inaction. His central thesis is that climate change is at root a social and political problem.

Drawing on anthropology, history and related disciplines, the book makes the case for social innovation adapted to local conditions and values: ways of living that are more satisfying, better for human well-being and less damaging to the climate. Winthrop examines documented cases of durable, successful practice and distils them into concrete strategies for climate mitigation that are strongly motivated and rooted in real social institutions.

Key Features

• Reframes climate change from a technical emissions problem to a social and cultural challenge
• Interdisciplinary approach combining environmental anthropology, history and political analysis
• Built on case studies of enduring, successful community practices rather than theoretical models
• Practical application 1: designing local resilience and self-sufficiency strategies for municipalities and communities
• Practical application 2: governing shared resources through commons-based management models
• Practical application 3: building regional economic networks that complement growth-focused global markets
• Closes with an actionable set of strategies for climate-positive social innovation

Coverage

Part I, Foundations, asks what more can be done, questions whether climate change is really an environmental problem, and examines what motivates people to act. Part II, Applications, covers designs for local resilience, sufficiency and self-reliance, conserving the commons, tools for conviviality (greater social control over technology), decentering markets, and closes with strategies for action.

About the Authors

Robert H. Winthrop is an environmental anthropologist based in Washington, DC, with four decades of practical and research experience on complex socio-environmental systems. He has worked as a consultant, a US government social scientist and an academic, focusing on energy and resource extraction, climate change, indigenous rights and social impact assessment. He is a research professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland, College Park, and previously served as senior social scientist at the Bureau of Land Management, US Department of the Interior. He is a fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute (UK) and the Society for Applied Anthropology (USA).

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Foundations
1. What More Can We Do?
2. Is Climate Change an Environmental Problem?
3. What Motivates Action?
Applications
4. Designs for Local Resilience
5. Fostering Sufficiency and Self-Reliance
6. Conserving the Commons
7. Tools for Conviviality
8. Decentering Markets
9. Strategies for Action

Why buy this book?

Most climate literature focuses on technology, carbon pricing and emissions targets. This book fills the gap on the human side of mitigation: why people and communities do or do not act, and which social arrangements have proven durable enough to change behaviour over time. It is a strong addition for university libraries supporting climate change, environmental studies, anthropology and political science programmes, and a useful reference for policy teams and NGOs designing community-level climate strategies. Written by a scholar with decades of hands-on experience in US federal resource and energy policy.

Keywords

climate change mitigation, climate policy, environmental anthropology, social innovation, local resilience, sufficiency, self-reliance, commons, conviviality, degrowth, regional economies, climate action, social movements, environmental politics

Target Audience

Academics, Policy practitioners

Genre

Climate change, Climate Change Policy, Anthropology, Social Sciences

Q&A

Why is climate change described as a social and political problem rather than an environmental one?
Winthrop argues that treating climate change as a technical emissions problem delegated to experts has disengaged citizens and fuelled polarisation. Effective mitigation depends on how societies organise daily life, resources and economic exchange, which makes it a matter of social choice.

What is the role of anthropology in climate change mitigation?
Anthropology examines how communities actually make decisions, sustain practices and share resources. This book uses that lens to identify real-world social arrangements that have reduced resource use durably, and turns them into strategies for climate action.

What are examples of community-based climate mitigation strategies?
The book discusses increasing local self-sufficiency, conserving resources, managing shared resources as commons, gaining greater social control over technology, and developing regional economic networks alongside global markets.

Who should read Climate and Cultural Choice?
Researchers and graduate students in climate change, environmental anthropology, environmental politics and social movements, as well as policy practitioners and NGO staff working on community climate programmes.

Where can I buy Climate and Cultural Choice: Social Pathways to Mitigation?
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