How Have Climate Emergency Declarations Helped Local Government Action to Decarbonise?

James Dyson and Calum Harvey-Scholes

in Howarth, C.; Lane, M.; Slevin, A.; (eds.) Addressing the Climate Crisis Local action in theory and practice. 

This open access book brings together a collection of cutting-edge insights into how action can and is already being taken against climate change at multiple levels of our societies, amidst growing calls for transformative and inclusive climate action. In an era of increasing recognition regarding climate and ecological breakdown, this book offers hope, inspiration and analyses for multi-level climate action, spanning varied communities, places, spaces, agents and disciplines, demonstrating how the energy and dynamism of local scales are a powerful resource in turning the tide. Interconnected yet conceptually distinct, the book’s three sections span multiple levels of analysis, interrogating diverse perspectives and practices inherent to the vivid tapestry of climate action emerging locally, nationally and internationally. Delivered in collaboration with the UK’s ‘Place-Based Climate Action Network’, chapters are drawn from a wide range of authors with varying backgrounds spread across academia, policy and practice.

Published 2022 | Palgrave Macmillan

Smart meter data and equitable energy transitions – can cities play a role?

Jess Britton

in Evans, J.; Karvonen, A.; Martin, C.; Luque-Ayala, A.; McCormick, K.; Raven, R.; Voytenko Palgan, Y (eds.) Smart and Sustainable Cities? Pipedreams, Practicalities and Possibilities. 

Smart cities promise to generate economic, social and environmental value through the seamless connection of urban services and infrastructure by digital technologies. However, there is scant evidence of how these activities can enhance social well-being and contribute to just and equitable communities.

Smart and Sustainable Cities? Pipedreams, Practicalities and Possibilities provides one of the first examinations of how smart cities relate to environmental and social issues. It addresses the gap between the ambitious visions of smart cities and the actual practices on the ground by focusing on the social and environmental dimensions of real smart city initiatives as well as the possibilities they hold for creating more equitable and progressive cities. Through detailed analyses of case studies in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, India and China, the contributors describe the various ways that social and environmental issues are interpreted and integrated into smart city initiatives and actions. The findings point towards the need for more intentional engagement and collaboration with all urban stakeholders in the design, development and maintenance of smart cities to ensure that everyone benefits from the increasingly digitalised urban environments of the twenty-first century.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Local Environment.

Published January 2021 | Routledge 

Localising Energy: Heat Networks and Municipal Governance

Jess Britton
in A. Goldthau, M.F. Keating & C. Kuzemko (eds.) Handbook of the International Political Economy of Energy and Natural Resources

This Handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the latest research from leading scholars on the international political economy of energy and resources. Highlighting the important conceptual and empirical themes, the chapters study all levels of governance, from global to local, and explore the wide range of issues emerging in a changing political and economic environment.

Published February 2018 | Edward Elgar Publishing

Community energy as a site of social innovation

Iain Soutar

in J. Backhaus, A. Genus, S. Lorek, E. Vadovics & J.M. Wittmayer (eds) Social Innovation and Sustainable Consumption: Research and Action for Societal Transformation

This book showcases strategic policies for and processes of societal transformation, which are required to address the challenge of sustainability. Based on the latest thinking at the interface of social innovation, sustainable consumption and the transformation of society, the book provides:

• In-depth discussions at the nexus of sustainable consumption, social innovation and social transformation, highlighting their significance to sustainability-related policy and practice;
• Detailed case studies of social innovation in energy, food, housing and policy which illustrate emerging practice and promising policy, business and civil society interventions; and
• Critical reflections and commentaries on the contribution of social innovation to societal transformation.

Bringing together aspiring scholars and leading thinkers on this topic, this book leads to compelling new insights for an international audience into the potential of social innovation for sustainable consumption and the transformation of society. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of sustainable consumption, sustainable development, (social) innovation studies and environmental sociology.

Published January 2018 | Routledge

Shale gas in the United Kingdom and Europe

Joseph Dutton 
in V. Bakshi (ed.) Shale Gas: A Practitioners Guide to Shale Gas and Other Unconventional Resources

With shale gas continuing to have a dominant impact on North American natural gas markets, unconventional natural gas now appears to be causing change in the global supply mix. The extent of this change requires the examination of a unique set of challenges that extend far beyond North America. Complex environmental, social and technical issues must be navigated for the development of safe and sustainable hydraulic fracturing practices to unlock the full potential of this unconventional resource, and the second edition of this guide examines the issues around hydraulic fracturing in a practical and user-friendly manner.

This fully revised edition features contributions from leading authorities in the field. Chapters cover key issues such as: the regulation of hydraulic fracturing in the US, and the UK; worldwide natural gas pricing trends; joint ventures; gas sale agreements; unconventional gas in Australia; and the causes of action and potential outcomes in shale gas disputes. Together, the contributions give a crucial insight into one of the fastest-moving areas of the natural gas industry.

'Shale Gas' is an essential reference tool for natural gas producers, lawyers (both in private practice and in-house), energy industry advisers and end users worldwide, providing a practical and timely overview of the shale gas industry.

Published June 2017 | Globe Law and Business

Defining and projecting EU energy policy

Caroline Kuzemko
in J.M. Godzimirski (ed.) EU Leadership in Energy and Environmental Governance

Published March 2016 | Palgrave Macmillan

The Great British Energy Transition?

Caroline Kuzemko 
in R. Looney (ed.) Handbook of Transitions to Energy and Climate Security’

Electricity markets and their regulatory systems for a sustainable future

Catherine Mitchell
in P. Ekins, M. Bradshaw & J. Watson (eds.) Global Energy: Issues, Potentials, and Policy Implications

Energy, and access to energy, are essential to human life, civilisation and development. A number of energy issues – including energy security, energy prices and the polluting emissions for energy use – now have high prominence on global agendas of policy and diplomacy. In addressing these and other global energy issues, the purpose of this book is to lay out the broad global energy landscape, exploring how these issues might develop in coming decades, and the implications of such developments for energy policy. There are great uncertainties, which will be identified, in respect of some of these issues, but many of the defining characteristics of the landscape are clear, and the energy policies of all countries will need to be broadly consistent with these if they are to be feasible and achieve their objectives. The book therefore provides information about and analysis of energy and related resources, and the technologies that have been and are being developed to exploit them that is essential to understanding how the global energy system is developing, and how it might develop in the future. But its main focus is the critical economic, social, political and cultural issues that will determine how energy systems will develop and which technologies are deployed, why, by whom, and who will benefit from them.

The book has three Parts.

• Part I sets out the current global context for energy system developments, outlining the essential trends of global energy supply and demand, and atmospheric emissions, from the past and going forward, and their driving forces.
• Part II explores the options and choices, covering both energy demand and energy supply, facing national and international policymakers as they confront the challenges of the global context outlined in Part I.
• Part III of the book brings together the discussion in Parts I and II with consideration of possible global energy and environmental futures, and of the energy policy choices which will determine which future actually comes to pass

Published September 2015 | Oxford University Press

Politicising UK energy: What ‘speaking energy security’ can do

Caroline Kuzemko
in M. Flinders & M. Wood (eds.) Tracing the Political: Depoliticisation, Governance and the State

Over the past two decades politicians have delegated many political decisions to expert agencies or ‘quangos’, and portrayed the associated issues, like monetary or drug policy, as technocratic or managerial. At the same time an increasing number of important political decisions are being removed from democratic public debate altogether, leading many commentators to argue that they are part of a ‘crisis of democracy’, marking the ‘end of politics’. Tracing the political uses a broad range of international case studies to chart the politicising and depoliticising dynamics that shape debates about the future of governance and the liberal democratic state. The book is part of the New perspectives in policy and politics series, and will be an important text for students of politics and policy, as well as researchers and policy makers.

Published September 2015 | Policy Press

How and why do Policy Paradigms Change; and does it matter? The Case of UK Energy Policy

Florian Kern, Caroline Kuzemko & Catherine Mitchell
in J. Hogan & M. Howlett (eds.) Policy Paradigms in Theory and Practice: Discourses, Ideas and Anomalies in Public Policy Dynamics

 The contributors investigate policy paradigms and their capacity to explain the policy process – actors, ideas, discourses and strategies employed – to provide readers with a better understanding of public policy and its dynamics. Drawing together leading researchers in the field, this edited collection offers a unique insight into a selection of policy paradigms, investigating their significance for public policy, policy making and policy change, in both theory and practice. The contributions open up new avenues of research on policy dynamics while re-evaluating the accuracy and effectiveness of existing policy orthodoxy.

Published July 2015 | Palgrave Macmillan

The Political Dynamics of Green Transformations: Feedback Effects and Institutional Context

Matthew Lockwood
in I. Scoones, M. Leach & P. Newell (eds.) The Politics of Green Transformations

Multiple ‘green transformations’ are required if humanity is to live sustainably on planet Earth. Recalling past transformations, this book examines what makes the current challenge different, and especially urgent. It examines how green transformations must take place in the context of the particular moments of capitalist development, and in relation to particular alliances. The role of the state is emphasised, both in terms of the type of incentives required to make green transformations politically feasible and the way states must take a developmental role in financing innovation and technology for green transformations. The book also highlights the role of citizens, as innovators, entrepreneurs, green consumers and members of social movements. Green transformations must be both ‘top-down’, involving elite alliances between states and business, but also ‘bottom up’, pushed by grassroots innovators and entrepreneurs, and part of wider mobilisations among civil society. The chapters in the book draw on international examples to emphasise how contexts matter in shaping pathways to sustainability

Written by experts in the field, this book will be of great interest to researchers and students in environmental studies, international relations, political science, development studies, geography and anthropology, as well as policymakers and practitioners concerned with sustainability.

Published January 2015 | Routledge

Introduction - Conceptualising Energy Security

Catherine Mitchell & Jim Watson
in C. Mitchell, J. Watson & J. Whiting (eds.) New Challenges in Energy Security – The UK in a Multipolar World

We are faced with the twin urgent challenges of delivering a low carbon and secure energy system. The last few years have seen Britain moving from being a net exporter to a net importer of energy. The threat of climate change has led to the slow but inexorable inclusion of environmental concerns in mainstream energy policy. Against this backdrop, economic and political power around the globe has altered, creating a complex, multipolar world. Rising concerns about the long term availability and price of oil, gas and uranium only add to the challenges facing Britain. This timely volume brings together key researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including energy policy, international relations and supply chains, to explore the practical policy options in addressing energy security in Britain.

Published September 2013 | Palgrave Macmillan

Energy Security: Geopolitics, Governance and Multipolarity

Caroline Kuzemko & Michael Bradshaw
in C. Mitchell, J. Watson & J. Whiting (eds.) New Challenges in Energy Security – The UK in a Multipolar World

We are faced with the twin urgent challenges of delivering a low carbon and secure energy system. The last few years have seen Britain moving from being a net exporter to a net importer of energy. The threat of climate change has led to the slow but inexorable inclusion of environmental concerns in mainstream energy policy. Against this backdrop, economic and political power around the globe has altered, creating a complex, multipolar world. Rising concerns about the long term availability and price of oil, gas and uranium only add to the challenges facing Britain. This timely volume brings together key researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including energy policy, international relations and supply chains, to explore the practical policy options in addressing energy security in Britain.

Published September 2013 | Palgrave Macmillan

The Energy Security-Climate Nexus and the Environment

Caroline Kuzemko, Antony Froggatt & Estelle Rouhaud
in C. Mitchell, J. Watson & J. Whiting (eds.) New Challenges in Energy Security – The UK in a Multipolar World

We are faced with the twin urgent challenges of delivering a low carbon and secure energy system. The last few years have seen Britain moving from being a net exporter to a net importer of energy. The threat of climate change has led to the slow but inexorable inclusion of environmental concerns in mainstream energy policy. Against this backdrop, economic and political power around the globe has altered, creating a complex, multipolar world. Rising concerns about the long term availability and price of oil, gas and uranium only add to the challenges facing Britain. This timely volume brings together key researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including energy policy, international relations and supply chains, to explore the practical policy options in addressing energy security in Britain.

Published September 2013 | Palgrave Macmillan

Energy Security Policy in Britain: Markets, Complexity and Challenges

Iain Soutar & Jess Whiting
in C. Mitchell, J. Watson & J. Whiting (eds.) New Challenges in Energy Security – The UK in a Multipolar World

We are faced with the twin urgent challenges of delivering a low carbon and secure energy system. The last few years have seen Britain moving from being a net exporter to a net importer of energy. The threat of climate change has led to the slow but inexorable inclusion of environmental concerns in mainstream energy policy. Against this backdrop, economic and political power around the globe has altered, creating a complex, multipolar world. Rising concerns about the long term availability and price of oil, gas and uranium only add to the challenges facing Britain. This timely volume brings together key researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including energy policy, international relations and supply chains, to explore the practical policy options in addressing energy security in Britain.

Published September 2013 | Palgrave Macmillan

Demand and Energy Security

Richard Hoggett, Nick Eyre & Malcolm Keay
in C. Mitchell, J. Watson & J. Whiting (eds.) New Challenges in Energy Security – The UK in a Multipolar World

We are faced with the twin urgent challenges of delivering a low carbon and secure energy system. The last few years have seen Britain moving from being a net exporter to a net importer of energy. The threat of climate change has led to the slow but inexorable inclusion of environmental concerns in mainstream energy policy. Against this backdrop, economic and political power around the globe has altered, creating a complex, multipolar world. Rising concerns about the long term availability and price of oil, gas and uranium only add to the challenges facing Britain. This timely volume brings together key researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including energy policy, international relations and supply chains, to explore the practical policy options in addressing energy security in Britain.

Published September 2013 | Palgrave Macmillan

People and Communities in Energy Security

Catherine Butler, Sarah Darby, Tom Henfrey, Richard Hoggett & Nicola Hole
in C. Mitchell, J. Watson & J. Whiting (eds.) New Challenges in Energy Security – The UK in a Multipolar World

We are faced with the twin urgent challenges of delivering a low carbon and secure energy system. The last few years have seen Britain moving from being a net exporter to a net importer of energy. The threat of climate change has led to the slow but inexorable inclusion of environmental concerns in mainstream energy policy. Against this backdrop, economic and political power around the globe has altered, creating a complex, multipolar world. Rising concerns about the long term availability and price of oil, gas and uranium only add to the challenges facing Britain. This timely volume brings together key researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including energy policy, international relations and supply chains, to explore the practical policy options in addressing energy security in Britain.

Published September 2013 | Palgrave Macmillan

Supply Chains and Energy Security

Richard Hoggett
in C. Mitchell, J. Watson & J. Whiting (eds.) New Challenges in Energy Security – The UK in a Multipolar World

We are faced with the twin urgent challenges of delivering a low carbon and secure energy system. The last few years have seen Britain moving from being a net exporter to a net importer of energy. The threat of climate change has led to the slow but inexorable inclusion of environmental concerns in mainstream energy policy. Against this backdrop, economic and political power around the globe has altered, creating a complex, multipolar world. Rising concerns about the long term availability and price of oil, gas and uranium only add to the challenges facing Britain. This timely volume brings together key researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including energy policy, international relations and supply chains, to explore the practical policy options in addressing energy security in Britain.

Published September 2013 | Palgrave Macmillan

New Challenges in Energy Security: the UK in a multipolar world – Conclusions and Recommendations

Catherine Mitchell & Jim Watson
in C. Mitchell, J. Watson & J. Whiting (eds.) New Challenges in Energy Security – The UK in a Multipolar World

We are faced with the twin urgent challenges of delivering a low carbon and secure energy system. The last few years have seen Britain moving from being a net exporter to a net importer of energy. The threat of climate change has led to the slow but inexorable inclusion of environmental concerns in mainstream energy policy. Against this backdrop, economic and political power around the globe has altered, creating a complex, multipolar world. Rising concerns about the long term availability and price of oil, gas and uranium only add to the challenges facing Britain. This timely volume brings together key researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including energy policy, international relations and supply chains, to explore the practical policy options in addressing energy security in Britain.

Published September 2013 | Palgrave Macmillan

The political economy of low carbon development

Matthew Lockwood
in F. Urban & J. Nordensvärd (eds.) Low Carbon Development - Key Issues

Low Carbon Development: Key Issues is the first comprehensive textbook to address the interface between international development and climate change in a carbon constrained world. It discusses the key conceptual, empirical and policy-related issues of low carbon development and takes an international and interdisciplinary approach to the subject by drawing on insights from across the natural sciences and social sciences whilst embedding the discussion in a global context.

The first part explores the concept of low carbon development and explains the need for low carbon development in a carbon constrained world. The book then discusses the key issues of socio-economic, political and technological nature for low carbon development, exploring topics such as the political economy, social justice, financing and carbon markets, and technologies and innovation for low carbon development. This is followed by key issues for low carbon development in policy and practice, which is presented based on cross-cutting issues such as low carbon energy, forestry, agriculture and transportation. Afterwards, practical case studies are discussed from low carbon development in low income countries in Africa, middle income countries in Asia and Latin America and high income countries in Europe and North America.

Written by an international team of leading academics and practitioners in the field of low carbon development, this book is essential reading for students, academics, professionals and policy-makers interested in the fields of low carbon development, climate change mitigation, climate policy, climate change and development, global environmental change, and environment and development.

Published March 2013 | Routledge

Designing and Creating my Low-Carbon Home

Catherine Mitchell
in H. Herring (ed) Living in a Low-Carbon Society in 2050

By taking on the 1870s coastguard cottage in Cornwall in 2008, I was already committed to a certain level of renovation as the property was in a bad state; cold, leaky and damp. What it did offer was the perfect opportunity for me to create a low-carbon home and let me experience first-hand the process that many more homeowners will go through if there is to be an ambitious programme of low-carbon retrofitting in the UK. My main criteria were that the house be very energy efficient, modern and simple. It soon became clear that there were two ways in which this could be achieved – refurbish the old 1870s building or knock much of it down and then rebuild it. In the end, the latter was chosen because although the cost was not going to be very different, the energy efficiency of the house was going to significantly improved with the new timber frame walls.

There would be many more of these crossroads moments in the project. Attempting to refurbish or build a low-carbon house requires complex choices to be made at each stage of the design and build process. One set relates to the actual building – and skimmed over here – while the other set of choices relate to what is seen, and lived with, within the house – doors, windows, passive lighting, electrical goods, furniture, baths etc.

Published August 2012 | Palgrave Macmillan

Low-Carbon Living in 2050

Nicola Hole
in H. Herring (ed.) Living in a Low-Carbon Society in 2050

What would it be like to live in a low carbon world? Where our houses are heated not by gas, but by solar energy; where our cars run not on oil but on electricity; and where the countryside is empty of cows but full of new energy and food crops. Governments may talk about reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by eighty per cent by 2050, but any pursuit of significant change will require drastic changes in either our energy supply or our lifestyles, or preferably a combination of both. Combining theory, case studies and speculative fiction, a range of contributors, from leading UK academics to pioneering renewable activists, create a compelling picture of the potential perks and pitfalls of a low carbon future.

Published August 2012 | Palgrave Macmillan

Renewable Energy, in Global Energy Assessment (PDF)

in Turkenburg, W. C., D. J. Arent, R. Bertani, A. Faaij, M. Hand, W. Krewitt, E. D. Larson, J. Lund, M. Mehos, T. Merrigan, C. Mitchell, J. R. Moreira, W. Sinke, V. Sonntag-O’Brien, B. Thresher, W. van Sark, E. Usher & E. Usher. Global Energy Assessment - Toward a Sustainable Future

The Global Energy Assessment (GEA) brings together over 300 international researchers to provide an independent, scientifically based, integrated, and policy-relevant analysis of current and emerging energy issues and options. It has been peer-reviewed anonymously by an additional 200 international experts. The GEA assesses the major global challenges for sustainable development and their linkages to energy; the technologies and resources available for providing energy services; future energy systems that address the major challenges; and the policies and other measures that are needed to realize transformational change toward sustainable energy futures. The GEA goes beyond existing studies on energy issues by presenting a comprehensive and integrated analysis of energy challenges, opportunities and strategies, for developing, industrialized and emerging economies. This volume is an invaluable resource for energy specialists and technologists in all sectors (academia, industry, and government) as well as policymakers, development economists and practitioners in international organizations and national governments.

Published August 2012 | Cambridge University Press 

Energy Policy in Transition: Sustainability with Security

Caroline Kuzemko
in C. Kuzemko, A. Belyi, A. Goldthau & M. Keating (eds.) Dynamics of Energy Governance in Europe and Russia 

Energy in Europe and Russia is in flux. The authors address key issues in this context and seek to analyze contemporary transition processes in the region’s energy sector. They look at whether and how transnational policy mechanisms can generate sufficient steering capacity to address pressing energy policy issues, including environmental concerns, energy transit or rapidly changing natural gas markets. Moreover, they explore the impact climate change concerns have on policy making in the energy sector and to what extent market mechanisms provide for answers to these issues. Instead of taking a geopolitical or neoliberal approach, this energy policy debate acknowledges the strong interdependence of global, regional and domestic influences on the processes.

Published March 2012 | Palgrave Macmillan

Summary for Policy Makers in IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (PDF)

Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K. Seyboth, D. Arvizu, T. Bruckner, J. Christensen,J.-M. Devernay, A. Faaij, M. Fischedick, B. Goldstein, G. Hansen, J. Huckerby, A. Jäger-Waldau,S. Kadner, D. Kammen, V. Krey, A. Kumar, A. Lewis, O. Lucon, P. Matschoss, L. Maurice, C.Mitchell, W. Moomaw, J. Moreira, A. Nadai, L.J. Nilsson, J. Nyboer, A. Rahman, J. Sathaye, J.Sawin, R. Schaeffer, T. Schei, S. Schlömer, R. Sims, A. Verbruggen, C. von Stechow, K. Urama, R.Wiser, F. Yamba, T. Zwickel (2011).

In IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y.Sokona, K. Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G. Hansen, S. Schlömer, C.  & V. Stechow (eds.) Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN)

The Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN), agreed and released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on May 9th in Abu Dhabi, assesses existing literature on the future potential of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy technologies, as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It also takes into consideration the environmental and social consequences associated with these technologies, the cost and strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion.

Published November 2011 | Cambridge University Press 

Technical Summary IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (PDF)

Arvizu, D., T. Bruckner, O. Edenhofer, S. Estefen, A. Faaij, M. Fischedick, G. Hiriart, O. Hohmeyer, K. G. T. Hollands, J. Huckerby, S. Kadner, Å. Killingtveit, A. Kumar, A. Lewis, O. Lucon, P. Matschoss, L. Maurice, M. Mirza, C. Mitchell, W. Moomaw, J. Moreira, L. J. Nilsson, J. Nyboer, R. Pichs-Madruga, J. Sathaye, J. Sawin, R. Schaeffer, T. Schei, S. Schlömer, K. Seyboth, R. Sims, G. Sinden, Y. Sokona, C. von Stechow,  J. Steckel, A. Verbruggen, R. Wiser, F. Yamba, T. Zwickel (2011)

Technical Summary. In IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K. Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G. Hansen, S. Schlömer, & C. von Stechow (eds.) Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN)

The Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN), agreed and released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on May 9th in Abu Dhabi, assesses existing literature on the future potential of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy technologies, as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It also takes into consideration the environmental and social consequences associated with these technologies, the cost and strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion.

Published November 2011 | Cambridge University Press 

Policy, Financing and Implementation (PDF)

Mitchell, C., J. L. Sawin, G. R. Pokharel, D. Kammen, Z. Wang, S. Fifi ta, M. Jaccard, O. Langniss, H. Lucas, A. Nadai, R. Trujillo Blanco, E. Usher, A. Verbruggen, R. Wüstenhagen & K. Yamaguchi

in IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation

The Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN), agreed and released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on May 9th in Abu Dhabi, assesses existing literature on the future potential of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy technologies, as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It also takes into consideration the environmental and social consequences associated with these technologies, the cost and strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion.

Published November 2011 | Cambridge University Press 

Renewable Energy in the Member States of the EU: UK

Catherine Mitchell & Bridget Woodman
in D. Fouquet & C. Jones (eds.) EU Energy Law Volume III - Book Two: Renewable Energy in the Member States of the EU

This unique loose-leaf publication, written by a team of leading experts from all 27 Member States, plus the US, China and India, and edited by the leading environmental lawyer Dr. Dörte Fouquet, gives a complete guide to the investment and support of renewable energy in the EU and abroad, essential to all those active in this area.

A loose-leaf publication has been chosen to ensure that it remains up to date in this fast-changing area. However, to facilitate the use of the loose-leaf publication, when updates are necessary, entire country chapters will be replaced, rather than individual pages. All country chapters will be renewed at least yearly; more often when new significant developments occur.

Published: December 2010 | Claeys & Casteels

Regulation and Sustainable Energy Systems

Catherine Mitchell & Bridget Woodman
in R. Baldwin, M. Cave & M. Lodge (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Regulation

Regulation is often thought of as an activity that restricts behaviour and prevents the occurrence of certain undesirable activities, but the influence of regulation can also be enabling or facilitative, as when a market could potentially be chaotic if uncontrolled. This Handbook provides a clear and authoritative discussion of the major trends and issues in regulation over the last thirty years, together with an outline of prospective developments. It brings together contributions from leading scholars from a range of disciplines and countries.

Each chapter offers a broad overview of key current issues and provides an analysis of different perspectives on those issues. Experiences in different jurisdictions and insights from various disciplines are drawn upon, and particular attention is paid to the challenges that are encountered when specific approaches are applied in practice. Contributors develop their own distinctive arguments relating to the central issues in regulation and apply scholarly rigour and clear writing to matters of high policy-relevance. The essays are original, accessible, and agenda-setting, and the Handbook will be essential reading both to students and researchers and to with regulatory and regulated professionals.

Readership: Academics, scholars, and advanced students of Economics, Politics, Law, and Business and Management; Practitioners in regulatory bodies, regulated sectors, law firms, and consultancies.

Published September 2010 | Oxford University Press

The development of renewable energy policy in the UK

Catherine Mitchell, Bridget Woodman & Jimmy Aldridge
in EU Energy Law, Renewable energy in the European Union, Part II: National Renewable Energy Support Schemes and Policies

Published 2010 | Claeys & Casteels 

Forging European Responses to the Challenge of Climate Change and Energy Resource Supply

Catherine Mitchell
in H. Prange-Gstöhl (ed.) International Science and Technology Cooperation in a Globalised World: The External Dimension of the European Research Area

In a globalized knowledge-economy, the European Union (EU) needs a new approach to its international science and technology (S&T) policies by focusing on improved coherence across the different tiers of government and by demonstrating leadership in tackling serious global challenges.

The contributors to this book analyze European S&T policies in several areas of global concern as well as by exposing both the pitfalls of policy coordination and its potential to contribute to a more coherent international S&T policy. They highlight the interactions between national, European and international policies, and explore how a common European policy for international S&T cooperation could work, and under which conditions. The book concludes that an EU external S&T policy is more likely to emerge if member states and the European Commission focus on a limited number of strategic priorities where Europe really can make a difference.

This book provides theoretical insights and practical solutions on how to equip the European Research Area with policies and instruments to ‘go global’ successfully, and on how to implement policy measures effectively and efficiently. As such, it will prove essential reading for policymakers in research, science and technology. It will also provide a stimulating read for academics and students of science and technology policies, European studies and international relations.

Published September 2010 | Edward Elgar Publishers 

New coal build and the EU emissions trading scheme (PDF)

Matthew Lockwood 
in C. Littlecott (ed.) A Last Chance for Coal: Making Carbon Capture and Storage a Reality

In this collection of viewpoints, Green Alliance reveals the growing support for carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a means of tackling the twin challenges of climate change and energy security. CCS technology appears to be ready, but it must be demonstrated urgently at commercial scale if it is to be deployed more widely in the coming decades.

These essays come from a variety of perspectives – politics, economics, business, unions, academia, think tanks and NGOs – but some important common themes emerge. First among these is that the demonstration of CCS requires dedicated public funding for a programme of different technologies. This is a strategically important undertaking, which must be funded and carried out at European level if it is to succeed. By doing so, the European Union can deliver on its international leadership ambitions, unlocking the potential for action by China and the USA.

But financial support to kick-start a new CCS industry is not in itself sufficient. Europe must reduce carbon emissions and cannot risk the construction of new unabated coal plants while CCS is being demonstrated. This collection therefore also looks in depth at how Europe can follow California’s experience with emissions performance standards. Such an approach would provide regulatory certainty for CCS and secure the future of the EU emissions trading scheme.

Green Alliance argues that funding for CCS demonstrations and the introduction of emissions performance standards must go together.

The time is now for the EU and its member states to act. In our carbon-constrained world CCS provides ‘a last chance for coal’.

Published October 2008 | Green Alliance 

Risk, Economics and Nuclear Power

Catherine Mitchell & Bridget Woodman
in D. Elliot (ed.) Nuclear Or Not? Does Nuclear Power Have a Place in a Sustainable Energy Future? 

The issue of nuclear energy excites strong emotions and there are widely differing views as to whether nuclear power can or should make a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With the nuclear issue back on the agenda worldwide, this highly topical collection steers a path through these controversies, presenting the views of proponents of nuclear expansion, examining the challenges that face them and exploring the arguments of those who support alternative approaches.

Published March 2007 | Palgrave Macmillan

Negotiating the EU’s 2030 Climate and Energy Framework: Agendas, Ideas and European Interest Groups

Oscar Fitch-Roy with Jenny Fairbrass (UEA)

In 2014, European heads of state selected new targets for the EU as part of the 2030 climate and energy framework. These targets will guide the ambition and nature of EU policy in this area until 2030 and are likely to have important implications for Europe’s transition to a low-carbon economy. This book exposes the role of civil society and business interest groups in setting the policymaking agenda and defining the range of options for the framework. Based on a unique sample of 32 in-depth interviews with Brussels policy elites, this book casts EU interest representation in a new light. In a novel application of the ‘multiple streams approach’, sequential chapters present the problems faced by policymakers, the range of policy options available to address them and the political constraints within which policy entrepreneurs attempted to attached policies to problems.

“Fitch-Roy and Fairbrass have written an empirically rich and well-structured book on EU climate and energy policy at a particular salient moment. They successfully apply Kingdon's multiple streams framework, but also find that the processes is not primarily characterized by a few eager policy entrepreneurs exploiting a policy window. The book nicely captures and make sense of a complex process. I recommend this book for students, scholars and practitioners interested in EU climate and energy policy.”

- Elin Lerum Boasson, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo

“This book presents complex information in an easy and compelling read. It is splendidly well-researched, and gives a thorough explanation of the plotting and persuasion of how the community of interest groups, large corporations, and their lobbyists and campaigners influenced the 2030 framework. This highly valuable insight into the deeper parts of the EU climate and energy policy processes should be read by academics and stakeholders alike.”

- Tor Håkon Jackson Inderberg, PhD, Senior Research Fellow and European Programme Director, Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Oslo, Norway

Published June 2018 | Palgrave Macmillan

The Global Challenge of Encouraging Sustainable Living — Opportunities, Barriers, Policy and Practice

Edited by Shane Fudge, M. Peters, S.M. Hoffman & W. Wehrmeyer

This unique book illustrates that in order to address the growing urgency of issues around environmental and resource limits, it is clear that we need to develop effective policies to promote durable changes in behaviour and transform how we view, and consume, goods and services. It suggests that in order to develop effective policies in this area, it is necessary to move beyond a narrow understanding of ‘how individuals behave’, and to incorporate a more nuanced approach that encompasses behavioural influences in different societies, contexts and settings.

The editors draw together analyses and case studies from across the globe and from multi-disciplinary perspectives in order to offer a broad-based psychological, sociological and economic understanding of consumer behaviour. The expert contributors, from both academic and practitioner backgrounds – discuss in detail the barriers, challenges and opportunities that face governments in relation to policy and actions at local, national and supranational levels.

This fascinating book will prove a thought-provoking read for academics, researchers and students in the fields of environmental studies – particularly sustainability – and public policy. Practitioners and policy makers concerned with achieving sustainable lifestyles will find this book an invaluable reference tool.

Published November 2013 | Edward Elgar

New Challenges in Energy Security – The UK in a Multipolar World

Edited by Catherine Mitchell, Jim Watson & Jessica Whiting

We are faced with the twin urgent challenges of delivering a low carbon and secure energy system. The last few years have seen Britain moving from being a net exporter to a net importer of energy. The threat of climate change has led to the slow but inexorable inclusion of environmental concerns in mainstream energy policy. Against this backdrop, economic and political power around the globe has altered, creating a complex, multipolar world. Rising concerns about the long term availability and price of oil, gas and uranium only add to the challenges facing Britain. This timely volume brings together key researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including energy policy, international relations and supply chains, to explore the practical policy options in addressing energy security in Britain.

Published September 2013 | Palgrave Macmillan

The Energy Security-Climate Nexus: Institutional Change in the UK and Beyond

Caroline Kuzemko

In the advent of important crises of both climate change and energy supply (in)security, questions are being asked about changes in energy governance. Caroline Kuzemko explains how and why change takes place and discusses the convoluted UK energy governance system that has emerged between 2000 and the present day. She applies a complex theoretical approach based on new institutional concepts of policy paradigm change, but which also utilises concepts of (de)politicisation and securitization. UK energy governance, like energy policy elsewhere, is moving from one heavily influenced by neoliberal economic ideas to one where state intervention is more commonplace. Moreover, the new governance system is informed not by one but by multiple perspectives on energy and governance – geopolitical, climate change and pro-market.

Published May 2013 | Palgrave Macmillan

Dynamics of Energy Governance in Europe and Russia

Edited by Caroline Kuzemko, Andrei V. Belyi, Andreas Goldthau & Michael F. Keating

Energy in Europe and Russia is in flux. The authors address key issues in this context and seek to analyze contemporary transition processes in the region’s energy sector. They look at whether and how transnational policy mechanisms can generate sufficient steering capacity to address pressing energy policy issues, including environmental concerns, energy transit or rapidly changing natural gas markets. Moreover, they explore the impact climate change concerns have on policy making in the energy sector and to what extent market mechanisms provide for answers to these issues. Instead of taking a geopolitical or neoliberal approach, this energy policy debate acknowledges the strong interdependence of global, regional and domestic influences on the processes.

Published March 2012 | Palgrave Macmillan

Low Carbon Communities: Imaginative Approaches to Combating Climate Change Locally

Edited by: Michael Peters, Shane Fudge & Tim Jackson

Community action is a vital strategy in the fight against climate change and has increasingly informed government policy, academic inquiry and grassroots action since the start of this century. This timely and engaging volume explores both the promise of community-based action in tackling climate change and some of its limitations.

On the one hand, community-based action offers a meaningful way to achieve global targets and an avenue for renewing social relations at the local level. On the other, it challenges fundamental aspects of social organization in the modern economy and sometimes comes into conflict with wider structures and constraints. This volume brings together theoretical and practical perspectives on community action to mobilize social change towards a sustainable, low carbon future. The opportunities and challenges are considered through a diverse range of models and case studies. Fresh conceptual insights are provided and new light is shed on the policy implications and practical ramifications of establishing effective community engagement in efforts to combat climate change locally.

This book will prove a stimulating read for academic researchers in the fields of climate change science, local and national level policy analysis and governance research. Local authorities, development agencies and policy makers seeking to understand and to influence the behaviours and practices of ‘energy consumers’ and the communities in which they live will also find much to inspire them.

Published September 2010 | Edward Elgar Publishing

The Political Economy of Sustainable Energy (2nd Edition)

Catherine Mitchell

This book analyzes the extent to which the current political paradigm is capable of meeting the challenges of climate change. Placing the UK in comparative perspective, leading energy expert Catherine Mitchell argues for a new way of approaching policy towards energy and sustainability

Published January 2010 | Palgrave Macmillan

New Nuclear Power; Implications for a sustainable energy system. A Warwick Business School and Green Alliance Report (PDF)

Catherine Mitchell & Bridget Woodman

The government has four clear goals in energy policy: reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions; maintaining energy security; promoting competitive markets and ensuring affordable heating (as set out in the 2003 Energy White Paper). This report examines the impact that new nuclear power could have on the UK’s energy system and its energy goals.

Nuclear power provides around 20 per cent of the UK’s electricity (or about 8 per cent of its total energy). Assuming that a programme of new reactors will only replace existing plants, new nuclear build has, at best, only a limited potential to reduce the country’s CO2 emissions.

Given the financial and institutional commitments implied by a new nuclear programme, it is therefore essential to examine what impact it would have on the rest of the UK’s liberalised electricity market which provides 80 per cent of the UK’s electricity. Furthermore what impact would it have on the other 92 per cent of the UK’s broader energy market and on a move towards a more decentralised, sustainable energy system?

March 2006 | Green Alliance