Global energy demand is likely to rise substantially by the mid-21st century. At the same time, the use of fossil fuels may need to be severely curtailed to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Nuclear power is one of the few options that meet these conflicting requirements. However, its potential to do so is an issue of wide disagreement and high emotions, with balanced information hard to find. This text, the culmination of a two-year study, provides a dispassionate and objective ass...

One of GreenBiz's Six Best Sustainability Books of 2016The next few decades will see a profound energy transformation throughout the world. By the end of the century (and perhaps sooner), we will shift from fossil fuel dependence to rely primarily on renewable sources like solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal power. Driven by the need to avert catastrophic climate change and by the depletion of easily accessible oil, coal, and natural gas, this transformat...

This book outlines how Germans convinced their politicians to pass laws allowing citizens to make their own energy, even when it hurt utility companies to do so. It traces the origins of the Energiewende movement in Germany from the Power Rebels of Schönau to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s shutdown of eight nuclear power plants following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. The authors explore how, by taking ownership of energy efficiency at a local level, community groups are key actor...

A feed-in tariff is a renewable energy law that obliges energy suppliers to buy electricity produced from renewable resources at a fixed price, usually over a fixed period - even from householders. These legal guarantees ensure investment security, and the support of all viable renewable energy technologies. Supporters argue that the feed-in model, if implemented effectively around the world, would greatly assist the energy revolution that is so desperately required; through CO2 reduction,...

Effective policy is vital for creating greener economies, new jobs and industries, for securing energy supplies and for protecting the climate and environment. As renewable energy is fundamental to achieving all of these objectives, it too needs the best possible policy to drive it. Feed-in tariffs have proven to deliver the fastest, most cost-effective and inclusive deployment, by allowing anyone to sell renewable energy into the grid and get a long term, guaranteed return for it. This bo...

This book develops a comprehensive framework for creating sustainable new business approaches on a massive scale. It relates the power of entrepreneurship, investment and technology to four areas in which progress is urgently needed to get out of the world’s current impasse. These are: game-changing innovations in companies; a way forward for the global fashion industry that reconciles competitiveness and worker dignity; turning around the energy crisis; and restoring capital markets to be...

The United Kingdom is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least eighty per cent by 2050, a target that will only be achieved by transforming the way that energy is supplied and used. At the same time there are anxieties about the security of energy provision in terms of European dependency on natural gas and the reliability of electricity supply. This book explores in detail those factors which could help or hinder the attainment of the UK's climate change targets, and...

This book provides an overview of the GLOWA-Danube research project from 2001 to 2011, a transdisciplinary initiative which explores the future of water resources in the Upper Danube Basin. It documents the purpose and unique approach, architecture, methodologies, scenarios and results of the project, creating a scientific knowledge base for the dialogue of stakeholders and scientists. The book offers a possible blueprint for successful global change science through integrative and transdi...

Enabling Environment is as real as it gets. The global commons are jointly owned and their inhabitants are jointly obligated to ensure their preservation. In the face of protracted negotiations, convoluted documentation, discord, and incessant bickering among scientists, activists, pressure groups of various hues, politicians and negotiators, very often the people on the ground are ignored or taken for granted. In the meantime, life meanders along. It is these ‘everyday individuals’ who ma...

This book focuses on the water–energy–climate nexus, which can be used to improve energy security and quality of life for millions of people in developing countries. It enhances the reader’s understanding of the link between energy and climate, through the development of new approaches to and methods for energy generation, energy use, and climate change adaptation and resilience.By presenting case studies and research reports, the book addresses the relevant issues needed in order ...

This report takes a neutral and independent point of view in attempting to show concrete ways to achieve the goal of reducing CO2 emissions and limiting global warming to the 2-degree target. It presents an overall picture spanning all key countries. In the report, the temporal evolution of the main parameters is given from 1970 to 2011 for all regions of the world and all G-20 countries, starting from the basic data, gross domestic consumption. The parameters are then extrapolated to 2030...

The volume presents innovative approaches to improving energy access in underprivileged communities. A core theme is the use of previously underutilized or unrecognized resources that can be found through synergies in supply and value innovation, novel financing methods, and the use of leapfrog technologies. The contributors illustrate how decentralized approaches and small-scale localized solutions can promote climate change mitigation and adaptation and increase the resiliency of vulnera...