Jim Skea – författare

Reconciling wealth creation and environmental care is one of the key challenges in the pursuit of sustainable development. Companies considering greener modes of operation are mindful of their formal responsibilities to advance shareholders'' interests. The age of globalization and intensified competition has increased disincentives to be ''green'' for its own sake. And yet, a surprisingly high proportion of large companies have put in place environmental management regimes and invest considerable time and resources in them. However, the public continues to believe that these companies are failing to take their environmental responsibilities seriously, and campaigners are unimpressed with the results of industrial self-regulation. In short, there is a gulf in perception between industry and the consumer.

Clean and Competitive explores the challenge of motivating industry to address environmental issues, drawing on work undertaken by Sussex University''s Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) and the Centre for the Exploitation of Science and Technology (CEST). The authors explore in detail industrial responses to prominent environmental issues, including: climate change, air quality, water pollution, waste minimization, and product recycling. They assess various approaches to environmental problems, such as: traditional regulation, partnership, voluntary agreements, and market-based instruments. Finally, they recommend practical ways forward for addressing an ever more complex environmental agenda.

This thoughtful and articulate text is recommended for students on environmental management courses, policy makers, and environmental managers within industry.

Reconciling wealth creation and environmental care is one of the key challenges in the pursuit of sustainable development. Companies considering greener modes of operation are mindful of their formal responsibilities to advance shareholders'' interests. The age of globalization and intensified competition has increased disincentives to be ''green'' for its own sake. And yet, a surprisingly high proportion of large companies have put in place environmental management regimes and invest considerable time and resources in them. However, the public continues to believe that these companies are failing to take their environmental responsibilities seriously, and campaigners are unimpressed with the results of industrial self-regulation. In short, there is a gulf in perception between industry and the consumer.

Clean and Competitive explores the challenge of motivating industry to address environmental issues, drawing on work undertaken by Sussex University''s Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) and the Centre for the Exploitation of Science and Technology (CEST). The authors explore in detail industrial responses to prominent environmental issues, including: climate change, air quality, water pollution, waste minimization, and product recycling. They assess various approaches to environmental problems, such as: traditional regulation, partnership, voluntary agreements, and market-based instruments. Finally, they recommend practical ways forward for addressing an ever more complex environmental agenda.

This thoughtful and articulate text is recommended for students on environmental management courses, policy makers, and environmental managers within industry.

The United Kingdom is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least eighty per cent by 2050, a target that will only be achieved by transforming the way that energy is supplied and used. At the same time there are anxieties about the security of energy provision in terms of European dependency on natural gas and the reliability of electricity supply. This book explores in detail those factors which could help or hinder the attainment of the UK''s climate change targets, and how these factors interact with the parallel objective of maintaining a robust and secure energy system. The book is the result of a major national energy research effort by the UK Energy Research Centre, which includes some of the UK''s leading energy experts. The results and recommendations are essential reading for policymakers, professionals, researchers, and anyone concerned with achieving large-scale reductions in carbon emissions, both from the UK and internationally.

Energy 2050 begins by exploring the evolution of the UK energy system over recent decades: the trends, technologies and environmental impacts related to energy use, and the structures and institutions of governance that have influenced this evolution. It then moves on to changes in energy policy to emphasise decarbonization and resilience, and introduce the approach to scenarios and modelling used in the rest of the book. Later chapters explore different aspects of the uncertainties that may enable or constrain the creation of a low-carbon, resilient UK energy system, related to accelerated technology development, the creation of an infrastructure to support de-centralized energy and microgeneration, to lifestyle and behaviour change, and to public attitudes to wider environmental impacts associated with energy system change.

The United Kingdom is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least eighty per cent by 2050, a target that will only be achieved by transforming the way that energy is supplied and used. At the same time there are anxieties about the security of energy provision in terms of European dependency on natural gas and the reliability of electricity supply. This book explores in detail those factors which could help or hinder the attainment of the UK''s climate change targets, and how these factors interact with the parallel objective of maintaining a robust and secure energy system. The book is the result of a major national energy research effort by the UK Energy Research Centre, which includes some of the UK''s leading energy experts. The results and recommendations are essential reading for policymakers, professionals, researchers, and anyone concerned with achieving large-scale reductions in carbon emissions, both from the UK and internationally.

Energy 2050 begins by exploring the evolution of the UK energy system over recent decades: the trends, technologies and environmental impacts related to energy use, and the structures and institutions of governance that have influenced this evolution. It then moves on to changes in energy policy to emphasise decarbonization and resilience, and introduce the approach to scenarios and modelling used in the rest of the book. Later chapters explore different aspects of the uncertainties that may enable or constrain the creation of a low-carbon, resilient UK energy system, related to accelerated technology development, the creation of an infrastructure to support de-centralized energy and microgeneration, to lifestyle and behaviour change, and to public attitudes to wider environmental impacts associated with energy system change.

At the heart of Energy Innovation for the 21st Century is a fascinating set of international empirical case studies covering supply and demand side technologies at different levels of maturity. These are set within an analytical framework encompassing the functions of technological innovation systems and innovation metrics. The book explores energy, science and technology policies, contextualising the case studies to aid the assessment of the overall performance of innovation systems.

Drawing together lessons for energy innovation policy and institutional design, this book is a much-needed resource for sustainability and innovation scholars and researchers. Policy-makers and practitioners will also benefit from the practical advice offered in this timely volume.