'offers knowledge and inspiration to promote renewable energy in developing and industrialized countries'Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEPFrom 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 t...

Economists insist that recovery is at hand, yet unemployment remains high, real estate values continue to drop, and governments stagger under record deficits. The End of Growth proposes a startling diagnosis: humanity has reached a fundamental turning point in its economic history. The expansionary trajectory of industrial civilization is colliding with non-negotiable, natural limits. Richard Heinberg's latest landmark work goes to the heart of the ongoing financial crisis, explaining how ...

The Burning Question reveals climate change to be the most fascinating scientific, political and social puzzle in history. It shows that carbon emissions are still accelerating upwards, following an exponential curve that goes back centuries. One reason is that saving energy is like squeezing a balloon: reductions in one place lead to increases elsewhere. Another reason is that clean energy sources don't in themselves slow the rate of fossil fuel extraction.Tackling global...

"[The authors] argue that with more integration and cooperation between businesses, governments and communities, a more sustainable economy is possible." — The Environmental MagazineWe find ourselves between a rock and a hot place—compelled by the intertwined forces of peak oil and climate change to reinvent our economic life at a much more local and regional scale. The Resilience Imperative argues for a major SEE (social, ecological, economic) cha...

In October 2006, Nicholas Stern, one of the greatest economists and public intellectuals of our day, made headlines around the world with his report, which reviewed the costs and benefits of dealing with global warming. The world's community has learned that it must act to mitigate global climate change, but until the Stern Review, no one knew how much it would cost, and how to do it.Now, Stern has transformed his report into a powerful narrative book for general readers. The G...

The financial crisis that has blighted the world's richest countries since 2008 was a turning point in human history because it ushered in an era in which economies will tend to shrink rather than grow. Incomes will decline becausethe natural resources required for growth — particularly oil, the lifeblood of the world economy — can no longer be extracted in growingquantities. Indeed, as this book shows, the financial crash itself was due to an irresistible force — the rising global demand ...

This volume is the most comprehensive textbook on sustainable development. It has been developed with students and professionals from around the world specifically for those who need a thorough grounding in the subject. Coverage includes: background to sustainable development and global environmental issues; measurement and sustainability indicators; environmental assessment, management and policy; approaches and linkages to poverty reduction; impacts and infrastructure development; econom...

"An important contribution to the global debate about growth, equality, climate change, and the path to a viable human future." —David Korten, international bestselling author of When Corporations Rule the WorldThe biggest challenges facing human wellbeing today—widening income inequality, continuing global poverty, and environmental degradation—may be simple to solve in theory. But, because we are required to come up with solutions that a...

This book is a call to action on climate change, filled with clear and detailed information on the strategies we need to adopt to ensure a sustainable future for the planet. Unlike other books on the subject, it brings together both the technology and policy issues to provide a truly interdisciplinary approach.Mark Diesendorf provides a guide to our future energy options, outlining the enormous recent changes in the energy sector in Australia and internationally. Diesendorf argues ...

Global warming is changing the world as we know it. Climate change can have catastrophic impacts in numerous cities across the world. It is time for us to react – quickly and effectively. The European Community (EC) has been leading the fight against climate change, making it one of its top priorities. We have introduced the most ambitious targets of their kind, known as the “20/20/20 by 2020” initiative within the “Climate Action and Renewable Energy Package.” As a result, European Member...

This guide explores the idea of economic growth, tracing its history and questioning why it has become so unchallengeable and powerful when unlimited growth in a finite world is ultimately impossible. It illustrates how economics based on degrowth can be turned into a positive and how we can arrive at new levels of environmental sustainability without having turning the clock back to the Dark Ages. A title for anyone interested in economics, the psychology of consumerism and progressive ch...

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,...