Sustainable Energy

Description: 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. Review: "In this volume based on the 7th Chemnitz Symposium: "Europe and Environment," John (economic policy Chemnitz U. of Technology, Germany) and Rubbelke (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." -- (c)2011 Book News Inc. Contents: 1. Sustainable Energy - an Introduction to the Topic Klaus 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 Czisch 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 Decarbonisation Ottmar Edenhofer, Brigitte Knopf, Gunnar Luderer, Jan Steckel and Thomas Bruckner 5. 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 Kristin Peschel Author Biography: Klaus John is Professor of Economic Policy at Chemnitz University of Technology. Dirk Rubbelke is Ikerbasque Research Professor at the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) and IKERBASQUE, the Basque Foundation for Science