Abstract

Findings: It is argued that interventions to tackle climate change are political rather than economic and depend on
power relationships among different actors, such as states and large corporations, involved in their implementation.
The main conclusion of the article is that a renovated agenda to tackle climate change ought to be based on the two
pillars of soft regulation-voluntary CSR and binding state regulation. In this new scenario corporate and antitrust laws
should be used to correct the growing imbalance between corporate rights and corporate responsibility, with binding
regulations supporting voluntary CSR.
Originality: Application of CSR has been left to corporations who have pursued their own piecemeal agenda; and the
predominant creed of neoliberalism has been ineffectual in governance. This article questions its effectiveness and
proposes an original and potentially sustainable alternative.