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This chapter introduces and overviews the field of behavioral and cognitive geography. Behavioral and cognitive geography is the study of human mind and activity in and concerning space, place, and environment. The field relates to many subfields of human geography, cartography, and geographic information science (GIScience). It is also fundamentally multi- and interdisciplinary, connecting primarily to various subfields of research psychology, but also to economics, linguistics, computer science, architecture and planning, anthropology, neuroscience, and more. It originated as a contrast to aggregate approaches to human geography that treat people as more or less interchangeable within groups and homogeneous in their responses; to models of human activity based on simplistic and psychologically implausible assumptions; and to conceptualizations of humans as passive responders to culture, social institutions, economic forces, and the physical environment. The chapter concludes with an overview of the Handbook that it introduces.

The Introduction has three aims. First, the editors unpack the meaning of ‘geographies’ as it relates to energy studies, and question the significance of distinguishing energy from other geographical traditions. Indeed, reviews of research in energy geography since the early 1980s have failed to uncover coherent or integrated themes. The editors ponder the implications of thinking about energy as a concept, rather than as merely an object of empirical analysis. Second, they situate the volume in the recent geography literature. Third, they identify themes and big questions that have emerged throughout the volume, finding inspiration in the work of the distinguished list of contributors. The Introduction also provides a brief overview of the chapters in the Handbook.

This chapter explores how contemporary scholarship evaluates global climate change governance. It briefly describes how the literature on global governance of climate change evolved and why its overly optimistic outlook can no longer be upheld. The chapter will also provide an overview of current perspectives, differentiating between those who see the effective and legitimate global governance of climate change as a ‘glass half full,’ those who are agnostic about it, and those who argue that the glass is almost empty. Finally, the conclusion will provide possible scenarios as to where the real world of global governance of climate change might move and what follows for academic debate.