Franziska Mannke - Böcker

Climate change is a matter of great interest and worldwide concern. The latest evidences from scientific studies and official documents produced by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show that the challenges posed by climate change need to be taken seriously if they are ever to be tackled properly. It is widely acknowledged that information, communication and education on climate change are important tools in the search for solutions to the social, economic or political problems climate changes poses. But despite the fact that much has been written about climate change, most works to date tend to focus on specific issues (e.g. climate modeling, forecasts) as opposed to addressing the problem in an interdisciplinary way as it should be. This book tries to address this perceived gap by providing a wide range of perspectives on climate change, which goes over and above the traditional barriers seen among subjects. It is interdisciplinary in nature and comprehensive in scope. This book was prepared in the context of «Climate 2008» (www.klima2008.net), the world’s first scientific conference on climate change held on the internet, and is one of the first outputs of the newly-created «International Climate Change Information Programme» (ICCIP). It provides a long-needed contribution to a better understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of the subject matter of climate change and offers an overview of some of the on-going interdisciplinary projects and initiatives in this field taking place in different parts of the world.

One of the major problems encountered in the inclusion of renewable energy in university programmes is the lack of suitable materials and documents which may guide this process. The materials produced as part of the project «Renewable Energy Networks between Turkish and European Universities» (RENET) – and this Handbook in particular – will therefore be especially useful to university teachers, since it shows some of the ways via which the subject issue of renewable energy may be included in university programmes. The best-practices here documented also serve the purpose of illustrating how the available know-how can be documented and transferred between countries. By means of this interdisciplinary and inclusive approach, this book will be helpful to universities in Turkey and across Europe, which may want to take full advantage of the potential benefits the inclusion of matters related to renewable energy in university programmes may bring about.

The book addresses the perceived need for a publication with looks at both, climate smart technologies and the  integration of renewable energy and energy efficiency in mitigation and adaptation responses. Based on a set of papers submitted as part of the fifth on-line climate conference (CLIMATE 2012) and a major conference on renewable energy on island States held in Mauritius in 2012, the book provides a wealth of information on climate change strategies and the role of smart technologies.   The book has been produced in the context of the project "Small Developing Island Renewable Energy Knowledge  and Technology Transfer Network" (DIREKT), funded by the ACP Science and Technology Programme, an EU  programme for cooperation between the European Union and the ACP region. ​