Rising fuel prices during recent years and the threat of global warming have reinforced public and scientific interest in the issue of sustainable energy, with the term sustainability understood as having economic, environmental and social dimensions.
Renewable energy is seen as an effective means to address several problems simultaneously, including climate change, exploitation of non-renewable resources, the high volatility of energy prices on the global markets, dependency on fuels from politically unstable countries (energy-insecurity) and the transfer of wealth to these countries.
This book addresses these and related topics including the diffusion of renewable technologies. Policies to induce sustainable energy use and production are discussed by researchers from a range of different disciplines. The result is a use-oriented and multidisciplinary perspective concerning policies to support sustainable energy use and production, which will be of great use to researchers and academics alike.
Table of Contents:
1. Sustainable Energy - an Introduction to the Topic Kaus D. John and Dirk T.G. Rubbelke 2. Low Cost but Totally Renewable Electricity Supply for a Huge Supply Area - a European/Trans-European Example Gregor Czhisch 3. Market Based or Command and Control? What Sort of Policy Instruments Do We Need to Deliver Clean Energy? David Toke 4. More Heat Than Light? On the Economics of DecarbonisationOttmar Edgnhofer, Brigitte Knopf, Gunnar Luderer, Jan Steckel and Thomnas Bruckner5. Combining Insights from Economics and Social Psychology to Explain Environmentally Significant Consumption Steffen Kallbekken, Jostein Rise and Hege Westskog 6. Germany in the Way to a Full Supply on the Basis of Renewable Energy Harry Lehman 7. Discussions Kiistin Peschel
About the Author :
Klaus John is Professor of Economic Policy at Chemnitz
University of Technology.
Dirk Rübbelke is a Senior Research Fellow at CICERO, the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo, Norway
Review :
"In this volume based on the 7th Chemnitz Symposium: "Europe and Environment," John (economic policy Chemnitz U. of Technology, Germany) and Rübbelke (Basque Centre for Climate Change, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain) introduce the challenges that renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency can address: climate change, highly volatile energy prices on the global market, dependency on non-renewable fuels from political unstable countries, and the transfer of wealth to these countries. International, multidisciplinary contributors to seven illustrated chapters treat aspects and examples of a low-cost, large-scale renewable electricity supply; policy issues; a model for predicting consumption based on insights from economics and social psychology; and Germany's pioneering efforts. Discussions following the papers presented conclude the volume." -- ©2011 Book News Inc.
