Junichi Fujino – författare

With the ever-increasing impacts of climate change, it is now clear that global society will have to restructure its energy systems in order to decrease carbon emissions. The scenarios under which this transition to low-carbon societies (LCS) could occur would have complex economic, technological, behavioural and policy implications.

This volume, a supplement to the Climate Policy journal, considers these implications by examining different low-carbon scenarios for different countries, modelled at different scales and typologies. Two overview chapters, co-written by international experts, set the context of scenario development and quantification of LCS, and summarize the findings on the economic implications, societal responses, technological developments and required policy measures to enable LCS across a range of countries. Further chapters detail the modelling of various scenarios and outline the model methodology, detail the economic and technological consequences of transitions to LCS, and comment on the strengths and weaknesses of specific policies.

With the ever-increasing impacts of climate change, it is now clear that global society will have to restructure its energy systems in order to decrease carbon emissions. The scenarios under which this transition to low-carbon societies (LCS) could occur would have complex economic, technological, behavioural and policy implications.

This volume, a supplement to the Climate Policy journal, considers these implications by examining different low-carbon scenarios for different countries, modelled at different scales and typologies. Two overview chapters, co-written by international experts, set the context of scenario development and quantification of LCS, and summarize the findings on the economic implications, societal responses, technological developments and required policy measures to enable LCS across a range of countries. Further chapters detail the modelling of various scenarios and outline the model methodology, detail the economic and technological consequences of transitions to LCS, and comment on the strengths and weaknesses of specific policies.

Reading this book will lead to new insights compelling to an international audience into how cities address the sustainability challenges they face. They do this by not repeating old patterns but by searching for new and innovative methods and instruments based on shared principles of a transitions approach. The book describes the quest of cities on two continents to accelerate and stimulate such a transition to sustainability. The aim of the book is twofold: to provide insights into how cities are addressing this challenge conceptually and practically, and to learn from a comparison of governance strategies in Europe and Asia. The book is informed by transition thinking as it was developed in the last decade in Europe and as it is increasingly being applied in Asia. The analytical framework is based on principles of transition management, which draws on insights from complexity science, sociology, and governance theories. Onlyrecently this approach has been adapted to the urban context, and this book is an opportunity to share these experiences with a wider audience. For scholars this work offers a presentation of recent state-of-the-art theoretical developments in transition governance applied to the context of cities. For urban planners, professionals, and practitioners it offers a framework for understanding ongoing developments as well as methods and instruments for dealing with them. The content is potentially appealing to post-graduate and graduate students of environmental management, policy studies, and urban studies programs.