Energy Policy Advancement

This open access book advocates for the Social Sciences and Humanities to be more involved in energy policymaking. It forms part of the European platform for energy-related Social Sciences and Humanities’ activities, and works on the premise that crossing disciplines is essential. All of its contributions are highly interdisciplinary, with each chapter grounded in at least three different Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines. These varying perspectives come together to cover an array of issues relevant to the energy transition, including: energy poverty, justice, political ecology, governance, behaviours, imaginaries, systems approaches, modelling, as well as the particular challenges faced by interdisciplinary work. As a whole, the book presents new ideas for future energy policy, particularly at the European level. It is a valuable resource for energy researchers interested in interdisciplinary and society-relevant perspectives. Those working outside the Social Sciences and Humanities will find this book an accessible way of learning more about how these subjects can constructively contribute to energy policy.

This book states that sustainable development has become an influential discourse worldwide. Climate change is not only an urgent problem, but it is also a fundamental spiritual question concerning social justice and sustainable peace development as well as solidarity among people of various religious backgrounds and different countries. Thus, this global problem must be faced and recognized for future actions and strategies. However, the politics of fear must be replaced with a culture of peace, hope, and compassion, and this urgent problem must be faced with an optimistic attitude and a certain degree of preparedness. Climate change is evident in many forms, such as, for example, the most obvious—recent weather fluctuations that happen around the world. Floods, droughts, and hurricanes are those visible signs of climate change. Human-caused climate change is projected to greatly impact marine, freshwater, and terrestrial life. Temperatures in Alaska and the Arctic have increased over the last 50 years at a rate more than twice as fast as the global average temperature. Poor people are vulnerable to man-made climate change and respond rapidly to its impacts. Diverse knowledge of and approaches to climate change help understand this growing problem; global average air temperature has increased in the recent past by approximately 1.0°C (1.8°F). According to the Climate Science Special Report, the last several years have been record-breaking, and the period of 1901–2016 is the warmest. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are still rising, with damaging effects on the Earth’s climate. At the moment, the concentration of CO2 is higher than at any point in time—at least the past 800,000 years. However, carbon dioxide (CO2) is not the only GHG that impacts human-induced climate change.

This book provides an overview of the dynamic issues of energy policy, development, and economics. It illuminates the factors influencing the energy policies of key energy producing/consuming nations around the world and examines current trends in energy development, planning, technology, and trade.

This books provides a comprehensive platform to the scientific, education and research communities working on various fields related to sustainable energy. It covers the exploration, generation and application of this area to meet societal needs as well as addressing global issues related to the environment. The content of this book presents research related to energy and how to tackle climate change as a comprehensive framework based on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The authors use the scientific method to analyze and deliver viable technical solutions, demonstrating how chemistry and engineering can be combined to solve technically challenging problems. While maintaining high scientific rigor, a quantitative approach is offered in select chapters to the study of energy related to our societies increasing need for electrical and chemical energy feedstocks.

The Politics of Energy Research and Development examines and evaluates U.S. research and development policies to promote nuclear, solar, conservation, and other technology options. This volume is the third in the series "Energy Policy Studies, "which explores fundamental, long-term social, political, and economic dimensions of energy technology, resources, and use. Contributions represent a wide range of theoretical and policy perspectives, including sociology, economics, political science, urban and regional studies, environmental analysis, and history and philosophy of technology. Contents: Richard L. Ottinger, "Introduction: The Tragedy of U.S. Energy R&D Policy"; Amor DEGREES B. Lovins, "The Origins of the Nuclear Power Fiasco"; Richard T. Sylves, "Nuclear Exotica: Peaceful Use of Nuclear Explosives"; Eugene Frankel, "Technology, Politics and Ideology: The Vicissitudes of Federal Solar Energy Policy, 1974-1983"; Maxine Savitz, "The Federal Role in Conservation Research and Development"; J. David Roessner, "Commercialization Issues in Energy Technology Policy"; John Byrne and Daniel Rich, "In Search of the Abundant Energy Machine"; and Grant P. Thompson, "Energy Policy in the Interim: Waiting for the Next Shoe to Drop."

After the advent of the industrial revolution, the world experienced a rapid change in technology and lifestyle, which has led to a dramatic increase in energy demand. Unfortunately, many of the energy resources used in the past have negatively impacted the environment, from greenhouse gases to the depletion of natural resources. Society now faces the challenge of ensuring sustainable and clean energy production so that society may receive efficient energy without damaging the Earth’s health. In order to promote an environmentally healthy society, strategic green policies must be developed. Eco-Friendly and Agile Energy Strategies and Policy Development establishes interdisciplinary coverage in sustainable energy development by strategic thinking and lifestyle changes by designing agile energy strategies and policies. It offers research, experiences, and lessons learned that offer integrated conceptual and empirical contributions from different interrelated fields. Covering topics such as energy security risks, green economy, and solar power plants, this premier reference source is an indispensable resource for engineers, government officials, business leaders, environmentalist organizations, economists, sociologists, students and educators of higher education, libraries, researchers, and academicians.

This book presents the energy system roadmaps necessary to limit global temperature increase to below 2°C, in order to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change. It provides a unique perspective on and critical understanding of the feasibility of a well-below-2°C world by exploring energy system pathways, technology innovations, behaviour change and the macro-economic impacts of achieving carbon neutrality by mid-century. The transformative changes in the energy transition are explored using energy systems models and scenario analyses that are applied to various cities, countries and at a global scale to offer scientific evidence to underpin complex policy decisions relating to climate change mitigation and interrelated issues like energy security and the energy–water nexus. It includes several chapters directly related to the Nationally Determined Contributions proposed in the context of the recent Paris Agreement on Climate Change. In summary, the book collates a range of concrete analyses at different scales from around the globe, revisiting the roles of countries, cities and local communities in pathways to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make a well-below-2°C world a reality. A valuable source of information for energy modellers in both the industry and public sectors, it provides a critical understanding of both the feasibility of roadmaps to achieve a well-below-2°C world, and the diversity and wide applications of energy systems models. Encompassing behaviour changes; technology innovations; macro-economic impacts; and other environmental challenges, such as water, it is also of interest to energy economists and engineers, as well as economic modellers working in the field of climate change mitigation.

This book calls for rethinking current climate, energy and sustainability policy-making by presenting new insights into the rebound phenomenon; i.e., the driving forces, mechanisms and extent of rebound effects and potential means of mitigating them. It pursues an innovative and novel approach to the political and scientific rebound discourse and hence, supplements the current state-of-knowledge discussed in the field of energy economics and recent reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Building on central rebound publications from the past four decades, this book is divided into three main sections: Part I highlights new aspects of rebound economics by presenting insights into issues that have so far not been satisfactorily researched, such as rebounds in countries of the Global South, rebounds on the producer-side, and rebounds from sufficiency behaviour (as opposed to rebounds from technical efficiency improvements). In turn, Part II goes beyond conventional economic rebound research, exploring multidisciplinary perspectives on the phenomenon, in particular from the fields of psychology and sociology. Advancing such multidisciplinary perspectives delivers a more comprehensive understanding of rebound’s driving forces, mechanisms, and policy options. Part III puts rebounds into practice and presents several policy cases and sector-specific approaches, including the contexts of labour markets, urban planning, tourism, information and communication technologies, and transport. Lastly, the book embeds the issue into the larger debate on decoupling, green growth and degrowth, and identifies key lessons learned for sustainable development strategies and policies at large. By employing such varied and in-depth analyses, the book makes an essential contribution to the discussion of the overall question: Can resource-, energy-use and greenhouse gas emissions be substantially reduced without hindering economic growth?