ABSTRACT
The idea of environmental catastrophe has a strong human connotation. Conveying fears over planetary collapse triggered by human activities, it alludes more to Mad Max-like scenarios than to biblical plagues and cosmic cataclysms. After situating it in contemporary environmental debates, the chapter explores key questions provoked by the idea of ‘environmental catastrophe’. Who exactly is to blame and who should act to avoid the catastrophe? What is the difference between concern over the devastating impacts of human activities, and catastrophism? Finally, does the invocation of the spectre of environmental catastrophe mobilize to action, or does that obfuscate the underlying politics?
