This book breaks new ground in the studies of green transition. It frames the ongoing transformation in terms of a "battle of modernities" with the emerging vision of ecomodernity as the final destination. It also offers a systematic exploration of the potential for extensive transformation of carbon-intensive sectors – with a focus on energy and transport – towards a low or post-carbon economy. The book does so in a comparative perspective, by pointing to a diversity of techno-economic and institutional solutions in the mature Western economies, and in the rapidly growing East and developing South. The contributors highlight a broad spectrum of available alternatives as well as illuminate conflicting interests involved. They also demonstrate how solutions to the climate challenge require parallel technological and governance innovation. The book advocates a new, overarching vision and agenda of ecomodernity – based on a synergistic paradigm-shift in industry, politics and culture – to trigger and sustain the ecological innovation necessary to tip development in a green direction. This vision cannot be monolithic; rather, it should reflect the diverse interests and conditions of the global population. This book is aimed at researchers and postgraduate students of energy, transport, environmental and climate policies, as well as development, environment, innovation and sustainability.

This open access book presents detailed pathways to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050, globally and across ten geographical regions. Based on state-of-the-art scenario modelling, it provides the vital missing link between renewable energy targets and the measures needed to achieve them. Bringing together the latest research in climate science, renewable energy technology, employment and resource impacts, the book breaks new ground by covering all the elements essential to achieving the ambitious climate mitigation targets set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. For example, sectoral implementation pathways, with special emphasis on differences between developed and developing countries and regional conditions, provide tools to implement the scenarios globally and domestically. Non-energy greenhouse gas mitigation scenarios define a sustainable pathway for land-use change and the agricultural sector. Furthermore, results of the impact of the scenarios on employment and mineral and resource requirements provide vital insight on economic and resource management implications. The book clearly demonstrates that the goals of the Paris Agreement are achievable and feasible with current technology and are beneficial in economic and employment terms. It is essential reading for anyone with responsibility for implementing renewable energy or climate targets internationally or domestically, including climate policy negotiators, policy-makers at all levels of government, businesses with renewable energy commitments, researchers and the renewable energy industry.

Reflecting the dynamic relationships between socio-technical behaviour and change, this book presents leading research on the transition process needed to achieve more sustainable transport systems. Focusing on making transition happen, this volume looks at various aspects and factors that are involved in the transition process and their implications for transport policy-making. The concept of Transition Management and how it can be applied to the transport sector is considered in detail, and forms the focus of the first part of the volume. The rest of the book is organised according to the three themes of transport energy use and emissions, the role of information in policy-making, and the evaluation of transport policy. This volume brings together scholars involved in research from various disciplines and countries to discuss the relationships between policy instruments, individual behaviour, institutional practices and the transition towards more sustainable transport systems.

This text examines the past evolution towards car-based forms of transport - problems associated with it, the success of past and current efforts to deal with problems of pollution, congestion, safety and degradation of public spaces and amenities, and also new developments, visions and strategies.

This book discusses various transport sustainability issues from the perspective of developing countries, exploring key issues, problems and potential solutions for improving transport sustainability in China. It first reviews the current transport sustainability baselines in the three key dimensions of environmental, economic and social sustainability, via an international comparison encompassing both developed and developing countries in different world regions. Then, with a time frame up to 2030, the study groups 100 major Chinese cities according to their baseline conditions, projected population and economic growth, and common sustainability challenges in passenger transport. A systematic attempt is made to discuss the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of various emerging sustainable transport strategies, including the metro systems, bus rapid transit, light rail, bicycles (and e-bicycles), electric vehicles and walking. Based on the different city clusters identified, the study then explores the opportunities and constraints of introducing a range of emerging sustainable transport strategies through both statistical analysis and detailed fieldwork. Future directions and challenges are identified based on official documents, onsite observations and interviews with local people. The study concludes with thoughts on sustainable transport in smart cities, the importance of governance, local participation, internal and external city movements, and towards a holistic sustainable transport plan. Unsustainable Transport and Transition in China will be of great interest to scholars interested in carbon emissions, climate change, environmental policy, planning, road safety, sustainability, transportation and urban studies, and is relevant to China and other developing countries.