Energy policy is at a crossroads. Attempts to reduce carbon emissions, increase energy security and ensure affordable energy for vulnerable households are all on a trajectory to failure. Politicians and energy companies place too much emphasis on large centralised power stations, and on national policy and programmes.
This book, invites us to consider a different path. Using examples of small scale local solutions we explain how cities, communities and local authorities from across Europe and North America have driven reductions in energy use and rolled out small scale, community level solutions.
Acclaim for the book:
“Global energy consumption has seen incremental growth in the last decade and this is only likely to continue in the near future based on growth in conventional sectors of the economy. Prashant Vaze and Stephen Tindale’s book offers a unique perspective on the need to adopt innovative energy policies that engage communities and promote localized energy production.”
Rajendra Pachauri, chair Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
“The low carbon agenda is so large that policy makers tend to look only at large scale solutions. This book is a welcome antidote to that temptation. It is a challenge to all of us.”
David Miliband, former Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State for the Environment