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Renewable Energy Transformation or Fossil Fuel Backlash: Vested Interests in the Political Economy (Energy, Climate and the Environment)
by Espen MoeRenewable Energy Transformation or Fossil Fuel Backlash.
Renewable Energy Transformation or Fossil Fuel Backlash: Vested Interests in the Political Economy (Energy, Climate and the Environment)
by Espen MoeRenewable energy is rising within an energy system dominated by powerful vested energy interests in fossil fuels, nuclear and electric utilities. Analyzing renewables in six very different countries, the author argues that it is the extent to which states have controlled these vested interests that determines the success or failure of renewables.
Renewable Energy Transition in Asia: Policies, Markets and Emerging Issues
by Nandakumar Janardhanan Vaibhav ChaturvediThis book covers critical debates on policies, markets and emerging issues that shape renewable energy transition in the Asian region, which is fast becoming an epicenter of the global energy consumption. The chapters focus on domestic policies, geopolitics, technology landscape and governance structure pertaining to the development of renewable energy in different Asian countries ranging from China to the Middle East. The book presents an insightful view of the pace and magnitude of the energy transition. It presents critical steps countries are taking to promote affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) as well as strengthening climate mitigation actions (SDG 13). In addition, this book introduces the concept of co-innovation---a collaborative and iterative approach to jointly innovate, manufacture and scale up low-carbon technologies---and its role in promoting energy transition in Asia. Chapter 8 (Renewable energy deployment to stimulate energy transition in the Gulf Cooperation Council) is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
Renewable Energy and Sustainable Buildings: Selected Papers from the World Renewable Energy Congress WREC 2018 (Innovative Renewable Energy)
by Ali SayighThis book contains selected papers presented during the World Renewable Energy Network’s 28thanniversary congress at the University of Kingston in London. The forum highlighted the integration of renewables and sustainable buildings as the best means to combat climate change. In-depth chapters written by the world’s leading experts highlight the most current research and technological breakthroughs and discuss policy, renewable energy technologies and applications in all sectors – for heating and cooling, agricultural applications, water, desalination, industrial applications and for the transport sectors.Presents cutting-edge research in green building and renewable energy from all over the world;Covers the most up-to-date research developments, government policies, business models, best practices and innovations;Contains case studies and examples to enhance practical application of the technologies.
Renewable Energy and Wildlife Conservation (Wildlife Management and Conservation)
by Christopher E. Moorman Steven M. Grodsky Susan RuppBrings together disparate conversations about wildlife conservation and renewable energy, suggesting ways these two critical fields can work hand in hand.Renewable energy is often termed simply "green energy," but its effects on wildlife and other forms of biodiversity can be quite complex. While capturing renewable resources like wind, solar, and energy from biomass can require more land than fossil fuel production, potentially displacing wildlife habitat, renewable energy infrastructure can also create habitat and promote species health when thoughtfully implemented.The authors of Renewable Energy and Wildlife Conservation argue that in order to achieve a balanced plan for addressing these two crucially important sustainability issues, our actions at the nexus of these fields must be directed by current scientific information related to the ecological effects of renewable energy production. Synthesizing an extensive, rapidly growing base of research and insights from practitioners into a single, comprehensive resource, contributors to this volume• describe processes to generate renewable energy, focusing on the Big Four renewables—wind, bioenergy, solar energy, and hydroelectric power• review the documented effects of renewable energy production on wildlife and wildlife habitats• consider current and future policy directives, suggesting ways industrial-scale renewables production can be developed to minimize harm to wildlife populations• explain recent advances in renewable power technologies• identify urgent research needs at the intersection of renewables and wildlife conservationRelevant to policy makers and industry professionals—many of whom believe renewables are the best path forward as the world seeks to meet its expanding energy needs—and wildlife conservationists—many of whom are alarmed at the rate of renewables-related habitat conversion—this detailed book culminates with a chapter underscoring emerging opportunities in renewable energy ecology.Contributors: Edward B. Arnett, Brian B. Boroski, Regan Dohm, David Drake, Sarah R. Fritts, Rachel Greene, Steven M. Grodsky, Amanda M. Hale, Cris D. Hein, Rebecca R. Hernandez, Jessica A. Homyack, Henriette I. Jager, Nicole M. Korfanta, James A. Martin, Christopher E. Moorman, Clint Otto, Christine A. Ribic, Susan P. Rupp, Jake Verschuyl, Lindsay M. Wickman, T. Bently Wigley, Victoria H. Zero
Renewable Energy for the Arctic: New Perspectives (Routledge Explorations in Energy Studies)
by Gisele ArrudaThis book explores various facets of the transition to renewable energy in the Arctic region. It critically examines the adverse effects of fossil fuel extraction and use, environmental and social impacts of climate change, and the possibility of a low carbon energy system through innovation and technology. Drawing together a diverse range of contributors and considering a range of new energy sources, this volume also looks at the scale of the transition challenges in the Arctic energy production and use, the necessary flexibility to balance energy demand and supply, the need of a more integrated energy infrastructure, and the new energy business models, health and safety, and quality standards for the region. Finally, it examines the transit and influence between Arctic and non-Arctic countries, in terms of growth, partnerships and new dynamics of a transitioning process to a sustainable energy system. Focusing on specific case studies that represent the most relevant energy projects in the region, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy policy and transitions, climate change, global business and sustainable development.
Renewable Energy in East Asia: Towards a New Developmentalism (Routledge Contemporary Asia Series)
by Christopher M. DentEnergy is crucial to the functioning of any human society and central to understanding East Asia’s ‘economic miracle’. The region’s rapid development over the last few decades has been inherently energy-intensive and the impact on global energy security, climate change and the twenty-first-century global system generally is now very significant and will become more so over foreseeable years and decades to come. The region is already the world’s largest energy consumer and greenhouse gas emitter, so establishing cleaner energy systems in East Asia is both a regional and global challenge, and renewable energy has a critically important part to play in meeting it. This book presents a comprehensive study of renewable energy development in East Asia. It begins by examining renewable energy development in global and historic contexts, and situates East Asia’s position in the recent worldwide expansion of renewables. This same approach is applied on sector-specific chapter studies on wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, ocean (wave and tidal) and bioenergy, and to general trends in renewable energy policy. Governments play a critical role in promoting renewables and their contribution to tackling climate change and other environmental challenges. Christopher M. Dent argues this is particularly relevant to East Asia, where state capacity practice has been increasingly allied to ecological modernisation thinking to form what he calls ‘new developmentalism’, the principal foundation on which renewables have developed in the region as well as how East Asia’s low carbon development is being generally promoted. Renewable Energy in East Asia will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Asian studies, economics, political economy, energy studies, business, development, international relations and environmental studies. It will also appeal to researchers working on the subject matter in government, business, international organisations, think tanks and civil society organisations.
Renewable Energy in Europe: Markets, Trends and Technologies
by European Renewable European Renewable Energy CouncilHow can the European Union meet its binding 20% renewable energy target in final energy consumption by the year 2020? Which sources offer the best prospects for realizing this goal? These are the questions answered by this key book which analyses the current situation of renewable energy in Europe, examines the latest technological, financial and economic developments, and outlines ways in which the renewable energy market can be developed. The book is divided into sections examining the integration of renewable energy, electricity, heating and cooling as well as biofuels. All the main technologies are covered, with exploration of: ' benefits and applications ' costs and prices ' markets and installed capacity ' policy instruments ' key countries and success stories ' targets and long term potential This will be essential reading for policy decision-makers at all levels and to all those involved in the development of the renewable energy industry.
Renewable Energy: A Global Review of Technologies, Policies and Markets
by Ulrich Laumanns Dirk A Dieter Uh'offers knowledge and inspiration to promote renewable energy in developing and industrialized countries' Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP From technology to financing issues, Renewable Energy offers a comprehensive and authoritative review of the determining factors that drive worldwide dissemination of renewable energy technologies. With a clear emphasis on policy and action, contributions from internationally renowned experts combine to form a holistic picture of the current status, impacts and future potential of renewable energy. Addressing the situation in both developing and developed countries, each chapter reviews in detail a different issue, to present extensive information on social, environmental, political, economic and technological aspects. This will be essential reading for professionals in renewable energy, in particular policy-makers, researchers, NGOs and energy consultants, and a valuable resource for teachers and students of renewable energy, environmental studies, development studies, political science and international relations.
Renewable Energy: A Primer for the Twenty-First Century (Columbia University Earth Institute Sustainability Primers)
by Professor Bruce UsherFrom wood to coal to oil and gas, the sources of energy on which civilization depends have always changed as technology advances. Now renewables are overtaking fossil fuels, with wind and solar energy becoming cheaper and more competitive every year. Growth in renewable energy will further accelerate as electric vehicles become less expensive than traditional automobiles. Understanding the implications of the energy transition will prepare us for the many changes ahead.This book is a primer for readers of all levels on the coming energy transition and its global consequences. Bruce Usher provides a concise yet comprehensive explanation for the extraordinary growth in wind and solar energy; the trajectory of the transition from fossil fuels to renewables; and the implications for industries, countries, and the climate. Written in a straightforward style with easy-to-understand visual aids, the book illuminates the strengths and weaknesses of renewable energy based on business fundamentals and analysis of the economic forces that have given renewables a tailwind. Usher dissects the winners and losers, illustrating how governments and businesses with a far-sighted approach will reap long-term benefits while others will trail behind. Alongside the business and finance case for renewable energy, he provides a timely illustration of the threat of catastrophic climate change and the perils of delay. A short and powerful guide to our energy present and future, this book makes it clear that, from both economic and environmental perspectives, there is no time to lose.
Renewable Energy: Cleaner, fairer ways to power the planet (No-Nonsense Guides #35)
by Danny ChiversFew people doubt the threat of climate change and the urgent need to conquer fossil fuel addiction. But can renewable sources of energy ever be sufficient to provide modern societies with a decent quality of life? This book is clear. They can. And it outlines the strategies to break the barriers to a 100% renewable world. Danny Chivers presents a compelling introduction to renewable technologies for non-technical readers (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and ambient heat, wave and tidal, fuel crops, and energy from waste) and a roadmap to powering the world, not just sustainably, but democratically.
Renewable Energy: Ten Short Lessons (Pocket Einstein Series)
by Stephen PeakeAn expert introduction to the fascinating world of renewable energy and the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy that lies at the heart of a brighter climate future.In Renewable Energy: Ten Short Lessons, Stephen Peake distills the key issues of this timely subject, examining how we can harness the power of a range of groundbreaking energy technologies most effectively to achieve a sustainable energy future. Renewable energy is central to managing climate change and our transition to a sustainable energy supply for the 10 billion of us who will populate the earth by 2050. But how will we cope without fossil fuels to heat, cool, and light our buildings, power our industry, and run our transport systems? And are some renewables better than others? Packed full of easy-to-understand diagrams and fact boxes, these ten lessons cover all the basics, as well as the latest understanding and developments, to enlighten the nonscientist. About the series: The Pocket Einstein series is a collection of essential pocket-sized guides for anyone looking to understand a little more about some of the most important and fascinating areas of science in the twenty-first century. Broken down into ten simple lessons and written by leading experts in their field, the books reveal the ten most important takeaways from those areas of science you've always wanted to know more about.
Renewable Gas: The Transition to Low Carbon Energy Fuels (Energy, Climate and the Environment)
by Jo AbbessThe author looks at the prospects for a transition from natural gas to low carbon gas, which could take several decades, and at how this will depend on the evolution of the fossil fuel industry. She investigates the technologies and energy systems for making the best use of renewable gas resources.
Renewable Gas: The Transition to Low Carbon Energy Fuels (Energy, Climate and the Environment)
by Jo AbbessThe author looks at the prospects for a transition from natural gas to low carbon gas, which could take several decades, and at how this will depend on the evolution of the fossil fuel industry. She investigates the technologies and energy systems for making the best use of renewable gas resources.
Renewable Resource Policy: The Legal-Institutional Foundations
by David A. AdamsRenewable Resource Policy is a comprehensive volume covering the history, laws, and important national policies that affect renewable resource management. The author traces the history of renewable natural resource policy and management in the United States, describes the major federal agencies and their functions, and examines the evolution of the primary resource policy areas. The book provides valuable insight into the often neglected legal, administrative, and bureaucratic aspect of natural resource management. It is a definitive and essential source of information covering all facets of renewable resource policy that brings together a remarkable range of information in a coherent, integrated form.
Renewables: The Politics of a Global Energy Transition (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Johannes Urpelainen Michael AklinA comprehensive political analysis of the rapid growth in renewable wind and solar power, mapping an energy transition through theory, case studies, and policy.Wind and solar are the most dynamic components of the global power sector. How did this happen? After the 1973 oil crisis, the limitations of an energy system based on fossil fuels created an urgent need to experiment with alternatives, and some pioneering governments reaped political gains by investing heavily in alternative energy such as wind or solar power. Public policy enabled growth over time, and economies of scale brought down costs dramatically. In this book, Michaël Aklin and Johannes Urpelainen offer a comprehensive political analysis of the rapid growth in renewable wind and solar power, mapping an energy transition through theory, case studies, and policy analysis.Aklin and Urpelainen argue that, because the fossil fuel energy system and political support for it are so entrenched, only an external shock—an abrupt rise in oil prices, or a nuclear power accident, for example—allows renewable energy to grow. They analyze the key factors that enable renewable energy to withstand political backlash, andt they draw on this analyisis to explain and predict the development of renewable energy in different countries over time. They examine the pioneering efforts in the United States, Germany, and Denmark after the 1973 oil crisis and other shocks; explain why the United States surrendered its leadership role in renewable energy; and trace the recent rapid growth of modern renewables in electricity generation, describing, among other things, the return of wind and solar to the United States. Finally, they apply the lessons of their analysis to contemporary energy policy issues.
Renewing Local Planning to Face Climate Change in the Tropics
by Maurizio Tiepolo Alessandro Pezzoli Vieri TarchianiThis book is open access under a CC BY 4. 0 license. This book aims to inspire decision makers and practitioners to change their approach to climate planning in the tropics through the application of modern technologies for characterizing local climate and tracking vulnerability and risk, and using decision-making tools. Drawing on 16 case studies conducted mainly in the Caribbean, Central America, Western and Eastern Africa, and South East Asia it is shown how successful integration of traditional and modern knowledge can enhance disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change in the tropics. The case studies encompass both rural and urban settings and cover different scales: rural communities, cities, and regions. In addition, the book looks to the future of planning by addressing topics of major importance, including residual risk integration in local development plans, damage insurance and the potential role of climate vulnerability reduction credits. In many regions of the tropics, climate planning is growing but has still very low quality. This book identifies the weaknesses and proposes effective solutions.
Renni the Rescuer
by Felix Salten Kenneth C. KaufmanFrom the author of Bambi, this story of a boy, his dog, and their bravery reaches a new generation of readers with a fresh look.George has always wanted a dog, so when he picks up small Renni, the runt of a litter of German Shepherd puppies, he immediately falls in love. As Renni grows, George begins to teach him, and soon Renni is able to do remarkable things. When a trainer suggests Renni become a rescue dog, George knows it's a perfect fit for his pet. Soon Renni is able to find anyone in any situation. Then the war that has been looming finally begins, and Renni and George enlist. They are able to help many soldiers during training camp--but when they are tested in the actual battlefield, can the two friends hold their ground? Or are they unprepared for the trials ahead?
Rents to Riches? The Political Economy of Natural Resource-Led Development
by Naazneen H. Barma Kai Kaiser Tuan Minh Le Lorena ViñuelaThis volume focuses on the political economy surrounding the detailed decisions that governments make at each step of the value chain for natural resource management. From the perspective of public interest or good governance, many resource-dependent developing countries pursue apparently short-sighted and sub-optimal policies in relation to the extraction and capture of resource rents, and to spending and savings from their resource endowments. This work contextualizes these micro-level choices and outcomes.
Reoccupy Earth: Notes toward an Other Beginning (Groundworks: Ecological Issues in Philosophy and Theology)
by David WoodHabit rules our lives. And yet climate change and the catastrophic future it portends, makes it clear that we cannot go on like this. Our habits are integral to narratives of the good life, to social norms and expectations, as well as to economic reality. Such shared shapes are vital. Yet while many of our individual habits seem perfectly reasonable, when aggregated together they spell disaster. Beyond consumerism, other forms of life and patterns of dwelling are clearly possible. But how can we get there from here? Who precisely is the ‘we’ that our habits have created, and who else might we be? Philosophy is about emancipation—from illusions, myths, and oppression. In Reoccupy Earth, the noted philosopher David Wood shows how an approach to philosophy attuned to our ecological existence can suspend the taken-for-granted and open up alternative forms of earthly dwelling. Sharing the earth, as we do, raises fundamental questions about space and time, place and history, territory and embodiment—questions that philosophy cannot directly answer but can help us to frame and to work out for ourselves. Deconstruction exposes all manner of exclusion, violence to the other, and silent subordination. Phenomenology and Whitehead’s process philosophy offer further resources for an ecological imagination. Bringing an uncommon lucidity, directness, and even practicality to sophisticated philosophical questions, Wood plots experiential pathways that disrupt our habitual existence and challenge our everyday complacency. In walking us through a range of reversals, transformations, and estrangements that thinking ecologically demands of us, Wood shows how living responsibly with the earth means affirming the ways in which we are vulnerable, receptive, and dependent, and the need for solidarity all round.If we take seriously values like truth, justice, and compassion we must be willing to contemplate that the threat we pose to the earth might demand our own species’ demise. Yet we have the capacity to live responsibly. In an unfashionable but spirited defense of an enlightened anthropocentrism, Wood argues that to deserve the privileges of Reason we must demonstrably deploy it through collective sustainable agency. Only in this way can we reinhabit the earth.
Reordering the Natural World: Humans and Animals in the City
by Annabelle SabloffIn Reordering the Natural World, Annabelle Sabloff argues that the everyday practices of contemporary capitalist society reinforce the conviction that we are profoundly alienated from the rest of nature. At the same time, she reveals the often disguised affinities and sense of connection urban Canadians manifest in their relations with animals and the natural world.Sabloff reflects on how the discipline of anthropology has contributed to the prevailing Western perception of a divide between nature and culture. She suggests that the present ecological crisis has resulted largely from the ways in which Western societies have construed nature as a cultural system. Since new ideas about nature may be critical in changing humanity's destructive interactions with the biosphere, Reordering the Natural World is invaluable in exploring how urban Canadians develop and sustain their current relationship with the macrocosm, and in considering whether these relationships might be altered by reconceptualizing anthropology itself as an integral part of natural history. With this unique text, Sabloff not only provides provocative insight into the study of relations between humans and the natural world, she lays the cornerstone for building an entirely new structure for the study of anthropology itself.
Repair: Sustainable Design Futures
by Markus Berger Kate IrvinA collection of timely new scholarship, Repair: Sustainable Design Futures investigates repair as a contemporary expression of empowerment, agency, and resistance to our unmaking of the world and the environment. Repair is an act, metaphor, and foundation for opening up a dialogue about design’s role in proposing radically different social, environmental, and economic futures. Thematically expansive and richly illustrated, with over 125 visuals, this volume features an international, interdisciplinary group of contributors from across the design spectrum whose voices and artwork speak to how we might address our broken social and physical worlds. Organized around reparative thinking and practices, the book includes 30 long and short chapters, photo essays, and interviews that focus on multiple responses to fractured systems, relationships, cities, architecture, objects, and more. Repair will encourage students, academics, researchers, and practitioners in art, design and architecture practice and theory, cultural studies, environment and sustainability, to discuss, engage, and rethink the act of repair and its impact on our society and environment.
Repairing Domestic Climate Displacement: The Peninsula Principles (Routledge Studies in Development, Displacement and Resettlement)
by Scott Leckie Chris HugginsClimate change, sometimes thought of as a problem for the future, is already impacting people’s lives around the world: families are losing their homes, lands and livelihoods as a result of sea level rise, increased frequency and intensity of storms, drought and other phenomena. Following several years of preparatory work across the globe, legal scholars, judges, UN officials and climate change experts from 11 countries came together to finalise a new normative framework aiming to strengthen the right of climate-displaced persons, households and communities. This resulted in the approval of the Peninsula Principles on Climate Displacement within States in August 2013. This book provides detailed explanations and interpretations of the Peninsula Principles and includes in-depth discussion of the legal, policy and programmatic efforts needed to uphold the standards and norms embedded in the Principles. The book provides policy-makers with the conceptual understanding necessary to ensure that national-level policies are in place to respond to the climate displacement challenge, as well as a firm sense of the programme-level approaches that can be taken to anticipate, reduce and manage climate displacement. It also provides students and policy advocates with the necessary information to debate and critique responses to climate displacement at different levels. Drawing together key thinkers in the field, this volume will be of great relevance to scholars, lawyers, legal advisors and policy-makers with an interest in climate change, environmental policy, disaster management and human rights law and policy.
Repairing the Climate: A Plea for Carbon Capture
by L.J. ReindersClimate change is triggered by a too high concentration of greenhouse gases in the air, carbon dioxide in particular, primarily originating from fossil fuel-burning. Since such burning will not stop any time soon, the concentration will undoubtedly rise further, exacerbating climate change. There is no escape from this. That is where carbon capture comes in: direct air capture (DAC) scrubs the surplus carbon dioxide out of the air for actually lowering this concentration. At the same time emission levels must be drastically lowered by fitting point-source emitters with carbon capture installations. This book sets out the case for such carbon capture, which is a must, without which the climate cannot be repaired.
Replenish
by Sandra PostelWe have disrupted the natural water cycle for centuries in an effort to control water for our own prosperity. Yet every year, recovery from droughts and floods costs billions of dollars, and we spend billions more on dams, diversions, levees, and other feats of engineering. These massive projects not only are risky financially and environmentally, they often threaten social and political stability. What if the answer was not further control of the water cycle, but repair and replenishment? Sandra Postel takes readers around the world to explore water projects that work with, rather than against, nature'srhythms. In New Mexico, forest rehabilitation is safeguarding drinking water; along the Mississippi River, farmers are planting cover crops toreduce polluted runoff; and in China, "sponge cities" are capturing rainwater to curb urban flooding. Efforts like these will be essential as climate change disrupts both weather patterns and the models on which we base our infrastructure. We will be forced to adapt. The question is whether we will continue to fight the water cycle or recognize our place in it and take advantage of the inherent services nature offers. Water, Postel writes, is a gift,the source of life itself. How will we use this greatest of gifts?