Earthscan is an English language publisher of books and journals on climate change, sustainable development and environmental technology for academic, professional and general readers.

Earthscan was originally founded by the International Institute for Environment and Development

International Institute for Environment and Development

The International Institute for Environment and Development is a London-based policy research centre and think tank.- History :IIED was established by the economist Barbara Ward in 1971...

 in 1987, and in May 1988 published its first two titles, Women and Environment in the Third World and The Greening of Aid.

In August 2009 Earthscan launched their Earthcasts http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/earthcasts-offer-a-precop15-primer-on-climate-change-1823368.html series of free hour-long interactive Webcast

Webcast

A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...

 sessions on sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

, climate change

Climate change

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...

 and Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...

. Notable figures who have participated in the series include Tim Jackson and Robert Costanza

Robert Costanza

Robert Costanza is an American ecological economist is a University Professor of Sustainability at Portland State University in Oregon.- Biography :Robert Costanza was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....

. In October of the same year Earthscan acquired the publishing assets of RFF Press, the publishing imprint of Resources for the Future

Resources for the Future

Resources for the Future is a nonprofit organization that conducts independent research into environmental, energy, and natural resource issues, primarily via economics and other social sciences. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., RFF performs research around the world...

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/3466-earthscan-acquires-assets-c2-a0of-rff-press-.html.

In March 2010 won three Independent Publishing Awards, including the top prize of Independent Publisher of the Year, becoming only the second publishing company to win three Independent Publishing Awards in a single year http://www.ipg.uk.com/cgi-bin/scribe?showinfo=pp132.

Authors include Lester Brown, Walt Patterson

Walt Patterson

Walter C Patterson is a UK-based Canadian physicist and widely-published writer and campaigner on energy.Patterson was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and educated there at the University of Manitoba. Patterson arrived in the United Kingdom in 1960. Trained as a nuclear physicist, Patterson...

, Al Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

, the IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...

, Tim Jackson (Prosperity Without Growth

Prosperity Without Growth

Prosperity Without Growth is a report and book by author and economist Tim Jackson.Prosperity Without Growth was originally released as a report by the Sustainable Development Commission , an advisory body for the UK Government, and was later fully revised as a book published by Earthscan.-External...

), Molly Scott Cato

Molly Scott Cato

Molly Scott Cato Ph.D. is green economist and prominent member of the Green Party of England and Wales. She is a Reader in Green Economics at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff and Director of Cardiff Institute for Co-operative Studies Molly is the Green Party's Economics Spokesperson...

, Clive Hamilton

Clive Hamilton

Clive Charles Hamilton AM FRSA is an Australian public intellectual and Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics and the Vice-Chancellor's Chair in Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University. He is the Founder and former Executive Director of the The...

, Jonathon Porritt

Jonathon Porritt

Jonathon Espie Porritt, CBE, is an English environmentalist and writer. Porritt appears frequently in the media, writing in magazines, newspapers and books, and appearing on radio and television regularly.-Early life and family background:...

, Felix Dodds

Felix Dodds

Felix Dodds is an author, futurist and activist. He has been instrumental in developing new modes of stakeholder engagement with the United Nations, particularly within the field of sustainable development. Mr. Dodds is the Executive Director of Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future...

, and Sakiko Fukuda-Parr

Sakiko Fukuda-Parr

Sakiko Fukuda-Parr is a development economist who has gained recognition for her work with the United Nations Development Programme and for her writing in publications including the Journal of Human Development, which she founded....

.