This book provides a comprehensive and balanced account of global energy policy; covering moral, political, social, technical and economic aspects of the subject. While The Energy Conundrum does not offer easy solutions, it provides the facts and evidence gathered from sources in government, industry, academia, and NGOs alike, for readers to understand the issues and make their own judgements.With a foreword by Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency and a leading figure in world energy, The Energy Conundrum comprises eleven chapters covering topics from history and geopolitics to contemporary challenges for climate mitigation and governance. The book also offers realistic case studies which invite readers to try their hand at making energy policy as government energy ministers in two countries with very different circumstances.Related Link(s)

With a Foreword by Dr Fatih BirolHirst provides a wide-ranging account of international energy strategies designed to counter climate change. He argues that six policies hold the key to addressing this global problem: accelerating action on renewables and energy efficiency; making bold investments in new technologies; persuading the public to adapt; taking firm regulatory action; supporting the developing world; and raising the level of global cooperation.Six Energy Policies to Save the Planet takes stock of the situation today, reviews the potential of available technologies, and examines the interlocking roles of business, public opinion, and government. It considers the geopolitics of climate change, in particular the relations between rich and poor countries and between China and the West. Additionally, it outlines the perspectives of some of the key decision makers, including an increasing number located in the developing world. The final chapters assess the current state of international energy governance and propose reforms.Encouraging us to understand underlying trends and significant levers for change, this book is a topical and fresh insight into one of the most pressing issues we face today.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical analysis of the structure, competence, and management of International Energy Agency provides substantial and readily accessible information for lawyers, academics, and policymakers likely to have dealings with its activities and data. No other book gives such a clear, uncomplicated description of the organization’s role, its rules and how they are applied, its place in the framework of international law, or its relations with other organizations. The monograph proceeds logically from the organization’s genesis and historical development to the structure of its membership, its various organs and their mandates, its role in intergovernmental cooperation, and its interaction with decisions taken at the national level. Its competence, its financial management, and the nature and applicability of its data and publications are fully described. Systematic in presentation, this valuable time-saving resource offers the quickest, easiest way to acquire a sound understanding of the workings of International Energy Agency for all interested parties. Students and teachers of international law will find it especially valuable as an essential component of the rapidly growing and changing global legal milieu.

How did mankind change Earth from the beginning? How did changes in technologies change our society and the global climate? And how do we have to change to cope with climate change?Climate change is the ultimate threat in the world today, and it can only be addressed through comprehensive technological and societal transformation. This book examines the financial, technical, and social situation of the world today, and outlines some of the existing policies and technologies that will help us on our long and unpredictable journey through climate change. Three major factors that have led us to today's predicament — our economic system, our own inexcusable ignorance, and continued political inertia — must be addressed, discussed, and changed for the better.This book also deals with the concept of change. How is a successful change defined? What steps are necessary, and which steps come first? Fortunately, there is good news. Innovation and human ingenuity will produce the tools needed to deal with the climate catastrophe. The only question is whether people will themselves be able to change to a sufficient degree. The whole process of change will take generations, it will have to be a joint effort, and the stakes are incredibly high.

We cannot continue on a business-as-usual, carbon fuel dependent mode of operation, because the consequences of doing so are catching up with us. So, what must we do to ensure there is a tomorrow?In this book, experts from around the world come together to shed light on what we can do to preserve and expand resources key to the survival of human civilization — from the state-of-the-art of innovative engineering; to the latest status on energy, energy mix, and advancements in renewable energy — including the complementary energy storage using hydrogen; or innovative architecture for more sustainable buildings, including retrofitting of aging tall buildings; innovative ways to improve our air, water and coastline with nearshore biodiversity reclamation; to the subject of sustainable development through the water-energy-food nexus.This volume is recommended for research and graduate courses on energy and sustainability, and policymakers interested in the subjects.

Solar power has become big business, with $131 billion invested in 2018, up from just $11.2 billion in 2004 but down from $171 billion in 2017 as unit costs fell. New installed capacity grew from 1.1GW in 2004 to about 107GW in 2018, a steady rise as solar begins to compete with fossil fuels on cost and to be built in nearly every country.This is a book for the solar workers of the future, a business book for those without a business or economics background and those simply curious about major shifts happening in the world energy economy. Key financial, economic and technical concepts are interspersed with the history of the first decade of cheap solar power, and the author's experience of being part of a successful startup in the clean energy sector.Related Link(s)

Ever since the Industrial Revolution energy has been a key driver of world politics. From the oil crises of the 1970s to today’s rapid expansion of renewable energy sources, every shift in global energy patterns has important repercussions for international relations. In this new book, Thijs Van de Graaf and Benjamin Sovacool uncover the intricate ways in which our energy systems have shaped global outcomes in four key areas of world politics: security, the economy, the environment and global justice. Moving beyond the narrow geopolitical focus that has dominated much of the discussion on global energy politics, they also deftly trace the connections between energy, environmental politics, and community activism. The authors argue that we are on the cusp of a global energy shift that promises to be no less transformative for the pursuit of wealth and power in world politics than the historical shifts from wood to coal and from coal to oil. This ongoing energy transformation will not only upend the global balance of power; it could also fundamentally transfer political authority away from the nation state, empowering citizens, regions and local communities. Global Energy Politics will be an essential resource for students of the social sciences grappling with the major energy issues of our times.

This major re-assessment by a leading political economist shows that the 2008 financial crash was no ordinary crisis, but the harbinger of a much deeper convulsion comparable to the major past crises of capitalism. While it is still uncertain whether it will become a transformative crisis for the international order, what we do know already is that: - While the crash particularly affected western states, and those unevenly, no part of the international economy is immune from its effects. - While the immediate crisis was contained, its magnitude is shown by how long it has taken western economies to recover, and by the need for exceptional measures, such as near-zero interest rates over a prolonged period. - There is not a single crisis, but a series of crises, highlighting in particular a deeper set of dilemmas about western leadership, democracy and prosperity which unless addressed, will preclude sustained recovery and pave the way to new and deeper crises. Andrew Gamble maps out likely scenarios in a turbulent world in which the weakening of the old western international order as a result of the decline in the capacities and will of the United States combine with internal deadlocks in both the US and the Eurozone over the management of austerity and debt and in many of the rising powers, especially China, over the management of growth and rising expectations. The path to a new era of prosperity depends on a reformed international order, solutions to budget as well as fiscal deficits, and new forms of sustainable growth. But these demand a political will so far notable by its absence at all levels without which there is little prospect of escape from a future of crisis without end.

Rethinking Heritage in Precarious Times sets a fresh agenda for Heritage Studies by reflecting upon the unprecedented nature of the contemporary moment. In doing so, the volume also calls into question established ideas, ways of working, and understandings of the future. Presenting contributions by leading figures in the field of Heritage Studies, Indigenous scholars, and scholars from across the global north and global south, the volume engages with the most pressing issues of today: coloniality, the climate emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic, structural racism, growing social and economic inequality, and the ongoing struggle for dignity and restitution.Considering the impact of climate change, chapters re-imagine museums for climate action, explore the notion of a world heritage for the Anthropocene, and reflect on heritage and posthumanism. Drawing inspiration from the global demonstrations against racism, police violence and authoritarianism, chapters explore the notion of a people’s heritage, draw on local and Indigenous conceptualizations to lay out a notion of heritage in the service of social justice and restitution, and detail the precariousness of universities and heritage institutions in the global south. Analysing the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, chapters also explore the changing nature of life under lockdown, describe its effects on theories of urbanity, and reflect on emergent Covid socialities and heritage-in-the-making. Rethinking Heritage in Precarious Times argues that we need the deep-time perspective that Heritage Studies offers, as well as its sense of transgenerational conversations and accountabilities, in order to respond to these many challenges—and to craft open, creative, and inclusive futures. It will be essential reading for academics and students engaged in the study of heritage, anthropology, memory, history, and geography.