Low Carbon Energy Transitions: Turning Points in National Policy and Innovation

2017 | Business & Finance

The world at large is wrestling with important energy choices. There is a strong sense today that we need to manage energy differently, substituting greater shares of lower carbon energy. Yet, no one is entirely clear about how to facilitate such a shift. Strategies have often revolved around near term, economically feasible options, but fail to keep the longer term in adequate perspective. Here, insights can be gained from recent cases of countries that have made considerable change in low carbon energy. These countries highlight energy system transformations in often surprisingly short periods of time, as the countries became industrial leaders of specific forms of energy. Low Carbon Energy Transitions: Turning Points in National Policy and Innovation takes an in depth look at four national energy transitions that have occurred since the global oil crisis of 1973: Brazil's shift to biofuels, Denmark's adoption of wind power, Frances nuclear power evolution, and Icelands advance toward geothermal energy. With insights from these cases, Dr.

Araujo argues that significant nationwide advances to low-carbon energy can occur in under fifteen years, and that technological complexity is not necessarily a major impediment to such shifts. Dr. Araujo draws on more than five years of research, and over 120 interviews with experts in the scientific community, government, academics, and members of civil society. Low Carbon Energy Transitions is written for professionals in energy, the environment and policy as well as for students and citizens who are interested in critical decisions about energy resilience. Background briefings are included for each of the major technologies in this book, so that scientific and non-scientific readers alike can engage in informed, evidence-based discussion about the choices that are involved.

Kathleen Araujo (Author)