The Paradigm Shift Towards Energy Sustainability

Since 2004, the Summer Academy 'Energy and the Environment' has brought together practitioners and policy makers from countries worldwide to engage in an interdisci-plinary discussion on practical solutions to problems of energy law. The fifth annual Summer Academy focuses on 'The Paradigm Shift towards Energy Sustainability'. As is evi-dent through the sheer scope of the articles presented and reprinted in this volume, discussion at the 2008 Summer Academy was rich and varied in ideas and interpretations. One thing emerged especially clearly: policy priorities must be designed to encompass a multidisciplinary approach to energy sustainability. Not only must renewable energy solutions be promoted but incentives must also be increased for greater fossil fuel energy efficiency and energy conservation. Experiences from both developed and developing countries are provided to illustrate needed sustainable energy solutions at the local level to address the global climate crisis.

From climate change to land degradation to fossil fuel shortages, we are faced with an impending calamity that threatens to bankrupt the planetary ecosystem and with it much of the manmade world. This book offers a plan that truly goes the distance: a highly detailed, planetary-wide blueprint that lays out a new course for our technological and industrial engines. It calls for sweeping adjustments in the way every person thinks and lives.--Inside front cover.

Sustainability has become a buzzword in the last decade, but its full meaning is complex, emerging from a range of different sectors. In practice, it has become the springboard for millions of individuals throughout the world who are forging the fastest and most profound social transformation of our time—the sustainability revolution. The Sustainability Revolution paints a picture of this largely unrecognized phenomenon from the point of view of five major sectors of society: Community (government and international institutions) Commerce (business) Resource extraction (forestry, farming, fisheries etc.) Ecological design (architecture, technology) Biosphere (conservation, biodiversity etc.) The book analyzes sustainability as defined by each of these sectors in terms of the principles, declarations and intentions that have emerged from conferences and publications, and which serve as guidelines for policy decisions and future activities. Common themes are then explored, including: An emphasis on stewardship The need for economic restructuring promoting no waste and equitable distribution An understanding and respect for the principles of nature The restoration of life forms An intergenerational perspective on solutions Concluding that these themes in turn represent a new set of values that define this paradigm shift, The Sustainability Revolution describes innovative sustainable projects and policies in Colombia, Brazil, India and the Netherlands and examines future trends. Complete with a useful resources list, this is the first book of its kind and will appeal to business and government policymakers, academics and all interested in sustainability.

Industrial Environmental Performance Metrics is a corporate-focused analysis that brings clarity and practicality to the complex issues of environmental metrics in industry. The book examines the metrics implications to businesses as their responsibilities expand beyond the factory gateâ€"upstream to suppliers and downstream to products and services. It examines implications that arise from greater demand for comparability of metrics among businesses by the investment community and environmental interest groups. The controversy over what sustainable development means for businesses is also addressed. Industrial Environmental Performance Metrics identifies the most useful metrics based on case studies from four industriesâ€"automotive, chemical, electronics, and pulp and paperâ€"and includes specific corporate examples. It contains goals and recommendations for public and private sector players interested in encouraging the broader use of metrics to improve industrial environmental performance and those interested in addressing the tough issues of prioritization, weighting of metrics for meaningful comparability, and the longer term metrics needs presented by sustainable development.

This book breaks new ground in the studies of green transition. It frames the ongoing transformation in terms of a "battle of modernities" with the emerging vision of ecomodernity as the final destination. It also offers a systematic exploration of the potential for extensive transformation of carbon-intensive sectors – with a focus on energy and transport – towards a low or post-carbon economy. The book does so in a comparative perspective, by pointing to a diversity of techno-economic and institutional solutions in the mature Western economies, and in the rapidly growing East and developing South. The contributors highlight a broad spectrum of available alternatives as well as illuminate conflicting interests involved. They also demonstrate how solutions to the climate challenge require parallel technological and governance innovation. The book advocates a new, overarching vision and agenda of ecomodernity – based on a synergistic paradigm-shift in industry, politics and culture – to trigger and sustain the ecological innovation necessary to tip development in a green direction. This vision cannot be monolithic; rather, it should reflect the diverse interests and conditions of the global population. This book is aimed at researchers and postgraduate students of energy, transport, environmental and climate policies, as well as development, environment, innovation and sustainability.

Sustainable mobility is a highly complex problem as it is affected by the interactions between socio-economic, environmental, technological and political issues. Energy, Transport, & the Environment: Addressing the Sustainable Mobility Paradigm brings together leading figures from business, academia and governments to address the challenges and opportunities involved in working towards sustainable mobility. Key thinkers and decision makers approach topics and debates including: · energy security and resource scarcity · greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions · urban planning, transport systems and their management · governance and finance of transformation · the threats of terrorism and climate change to our transport systems. Introduced by a preface from U.S. Secretary Steven Chu and an outline by the editors, Dr Oliver Inderwildi and Sir David King, Energy, Transport, & the Environment is divided into six sections. These sections address and explore the challenges and opportunities for energy supply, road transport, urban mobility, aviation, sea and rail, as well as finance and economics in transport. Possible solutions, ranging from alternative fuels to advanced urban planning and policy levers, will be examined in order to deepen the understanding of currently proposed solutions within the political realities of the dominating economic areas. The result of this detailed investigation is an integrated view of sustainable transport for both people and freight, making Energy, Transport, & the Environment key reading for researchers, decision makers and policy experts across the public and private sectors.