Climate Change Criminology is the fifth title in the New Horizons in Criminology book series. The series is home for concise authoritative texts that are international in scope and reflect cutting-edge thought and theoretical developments in criminology. They are short, accessible books written so that the nonspecialist can understand them, by explaining principles and developments clearly before going deeper into the subject. The books are written by leading authors in their fields and I was delighted when Rob White agreed to contribute on the subject climate change criminology. Climate change is possibly the most important issue we face and warrants far greater prominence across the full breadth of criminology. It is certainly a topic that is not going to go away in a hurry. Rob is a prolific author and a leading authority on green criminology. For instance, his many publications include books on Crimes Against Nature (2008), Transnational Environmental Crime (2011), Environmental Harm (2014) and Green Criminology (2014, with Diane Heckenberg).

This book is significant as it is the first to suggest a distinct ‘climate change criminology’, yet it draws on a rich history of green and critical scholarship. Rob suggests this new book is not polemical, but hopes it provides ‘an interesting, considered, thought-provoking and passionate account of Climate Change Criminology’ and a call for criminology to ‘join us in the fight for climate justice’ by addressing some of the most pressing concerns facing the planet.

The book considers a wide range of topics, including global warming, ecocide, heat and criminality and environmental catastrophe. It looks at the victims of climate change in the global north and south, and both human and non-human. And in asking who is responsible for climate change, it examines the ‘criminals’ – with a special focus on carbon criminals. Here there is much to interest scholars of state and corporate harms and crimes. The book also explores both criminal justice and criminological responses to climate change.

For some, issues of climate change may seem a distant threat; yet crises of energy production, pollution, food production and distribution mean it is an issue of social justice and inequality for today. As Rob highlights, for those living on the islands of Tuvalu, the Maldives and Kiribati, rises in sea levels mean concerns are focused on survival.