Climate Change Issues and Social Sciences Towards a Carbon Neutral Society

As the climate crisis worsens, governments around the world are calling for carbon-neutral societies and urging individuals to take responsibility for their climate-related behavior. However, despite growing awareness of the urgent need for climate action, meaningful change remains limited at the governmental and individual levels.

This book presents bold and innovative approaches to addressing climate change, from social visions and sustainable business models to transformative shifts in environmental policy, law, and markets aimed at driving global progress toward net-zero emissions.

The book covers topics ranging from everyday choices, such as meat consumption, to major systemic changes, such as the adoption of renewable energy. It offers a comprehensive look at how individuals, businesses, and governments can disrupt the current inertia surrounding climate behavior.

By analyzing the cultural, economic, and political forces that shape environmental outcomes, the book provides a clear roadmap to carbon neutrality. It is a valuable resource for climate researchers, sustainability practitioners, and policymakers, while also inspiring engineers and technology developers to create the tools needed for a greener, more sustainable future.

This is an open access book.

Study on Environmental and Cultural History and Study on Imagination History.- Intergenerational Altruism and Intergenerational Equity The Source of Emissions Gap.- Shared Responsibility in Climate Change Reassessing Individual Moral Responsibility within Collective Harm.- Structuring and Overcoming Barriers to Urban Carbon Neutrality Historical Institutionalism in Transport Land Use Coordination.

Dr. Ken-Ichi Akao is a professor of environmental economics in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Waseda University. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences from Kyoto University. Dr. Akao joined Waseda University in 1995. His research interests include sustainable development, the tragedy of the commons, environmental policies, and international environmental agreements. He applies nonlinear dynamic theory to economic analysis and environmental issues. Selected publications include: "Tax Schemes in a Class of Differential Games" (Economic Theory, 2008); "Some Rationalizability Results for Dynamic Games" (with Tapan Mitra and Gerhard Sorgner, International Journal of Economic Theory, 2012); "A Tradable Permit System in an Intertemporal Economy" (with Shunsuke Managi, Environmental and Resource Economics, 2013); and "A Theory of Disasters and Long-Run Growth" (with Hiroaki Sakamoto, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 2018). He serves as co-editor of the academic journal Environmental Economics and Policy Studies (Springer), as editor of International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics (now publishers), and as editorial board member of Chinese Journal of Population, Resources, and Environment (KeAi). He was the President of the Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies from 2016 to 2018.

Dr. Ayu Washizu is a Professor at the School of Social Sciences, Director of the Institute for Economic Analysis of Next-generation Science and Technology, and Vice Director of the Research Institute for Environment Economics and Management at Waseda University in Tokyo. Her research interests include input-output analysis, renewable energy, and smart society utilizing information and communication technology. Dr. Washizu has published her work in academic journals such as Cities, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, the Journal of Environmental Management, Telecommunications Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, the Journal of the Japan Institute of Energy, and Economic Systems Research. Dr. Washizu holds a Ph.D. in Commerce, an M.Sc. in Economics, and a B.A. in Economics from Keio University. She has served on several Japanese local government committees on public works, including the Public Works Evaluation Committee of the City of Yokohama and the Port Council of the City of Kawasaki. Dr. Washizu has also served on the editorial boards of academic journals such as Energy and Resources. In 2005, she was awarded the Best Presentation Paper Award at the 4th International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing EcoDesign. In 2010, she was awarded the Outstanding Paper Award from the Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management.