Political geographer Gerard Toal explores how geopolitics and interstate rivalry prevent necessary climate action.

With temperatures and sea levels rising and extreme weather becoming more common than ever, our planet is in a state of climate emergency that requires immediate collective action.

And yet, the world's greatest powers (and greatest polluters) still prioritize national interests over the needs of the Earth.

Gerard Toal is an Irish political geographer, academic, and Professor of Government and International Affairs at Virginia Tech.

Toal's 1996 book Critical Geopolitics is considered one of the defining works of critical geopolitics theory.

In his 2024 book, Oceans Rise Empires Fall, Toal analyzes how geopolitics drives fossil fuel burning and stands in the way of international environmental action.