Library image, photo by Alireza Attari on Unsplash

Transitions in energy efficiency and demand

07 December, 2018

Transitions in energy efficiency and demand

Benjamin K. Sovacool

Steven Robert Sorrell

Tim Foxon

Mari Martiskainen

Debbie Hopkins

Tim Schwanen

Research paper   Digital Society

Benjamin K Sovacool, Steven Robert Sorrell, Tim Foxon, Mari Martiskainen, Debbie Hopkins and Tim Schwanen

Meeting the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement and limiting global temperature increases to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels demands rapid reductions in global carbon dioxide emissions. Reducing energy demand has a central role in achieving this goal, but existing policy initiatives have been largely incremental in terms of the technological and behavioural changes they encourage. Against this background, this book develops a sociotechnical approach to the challenge of reducing energy demand and illustrates this with a number of empirical case studies from the United Kingdom. In doing so, it explores the emergence, diffusion and impact of low-energy innovations, including electric vehicles and smart meters. The book has the dual aim of improving the academic understanding of sociotechnical transitions and energy demand and providing practical recommendations for public policy.

Combining an impressive range of contributions from key thinkers in the field, this book will be of great interest to energy students, scholars and decision-makers.

Publication details

Sovacool, B., Sorrell, S., Foxon, T., Martiskainen, M., Hopkins, D. and Schwanen, T. 2019. In: Transitions in energy efficiency and demand [eds: Jenkins, K.E.H. and Hopkins, D]. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis Group. doi: 10.4324/9781351127264 

Banner photo credit: Alireza Attari on Unsplash