Access to new sources of energy and their efficient conversion to provide useful work have been key drivers of economic growth since the industrial revolution. Western countries now need to transform their energy systems and move away from the single-minded pursuit of economic growth in order to reduce our carbon emissions, and to allow the environmental space for other countries to develop in a more sustainable way. Achieving this requires understanding of the dynamics of economic and industrial change with appreciation of the dependence of economies on ecological systems. Energy and Economic Growth thus examines the links between three issues: history of energy sources, technologies and uses; ecological challenges associated with the current dominant economic growth paradigm; and the future low carbon energy transition to mitigate human-induced climate change. Providing a historical understanding of the relevant connections between physical, social and economic changes, the book enables the reader to better understand the connection between their own energy use and global economic and environmental systems, and to be able to ask the right questions of our political and business leaders. This is a valuable resource for students, scholars and policy makers with an interest in energy, climate change and economic thinking.

Authors with widely different perspectives consider two important social objectives: assuring future energy supplies and protecting the natural environment. Contributors include Kenneth Boulding, Glenn Seaborg, and Barry Commoner. Particularly useful to students and interested non-specialists. Originally published in 1972

This book deals with short-term and long-term issues associated with directions of economic development in developing as well as industrialized countries. It examines various aspects of the interrelationships among the environment, energy requirements, and economic development-- a topic much discussed since the Rio Earth Summit. It emphasizes the increasing environmental stress arising from such human activities as growing energy consumption associated with economic development; the risk of further environmental degradation due to economic development in developing countries; the importance of global environmental problems such as climate change resulting from greenhouse gas emissions; the significance of impacts of deforestation and desertification on rural societies in the developing world; the role of new technologies in addressing the trilemma of energy demand, economic development, and the environment; the opportunity for the developing economies through implementing technological leapfrogging and phased approaches; and the need for removing technological, economic, and social barriers to achieving sustainable development. It underscores the need for further scientific information and analytical studies, such as improved climate and econometric modelling. The book will be of tremendous value to experts and policy makers dealing with energy and sustainable development issues.

Energy Global energy demand has more than doubled since 1970. The use of energy is strongly related to almost every conceivable aspect of development: wealth, health, nutrition, water, infrastructure, education and even life expectancy itself are strongly and significantly related to the consumption of energy per capita. Many development indicators are strongly related to per-capita energy consumption. Fossil fuel is the most conventional source of energy but also increases greenhouse gas emissions. The economic development of many countries has come at the cost of the environment. However, it should not be presumed that a reconciliation of the two is not possible. The nexus concept is the interconnection between the resource energy, water, food, land, and climate. Such interconnections enable us to address trade-offs and seek synergies among them. Energy, water, food, land, and climate are essential resources of our natural environment and support our quality of life. Competition between these resources is increasing globally and is exacerbated by climate change. Improving resilience and securing resource availability would require improving resource efficiency. Many policies and programs are announced nationally and internationally for replacing the conventional mode and also emphasizing on conservation of fossil fuels and reuse of exhausted energy, so a gap in implications and outcomes can be broadly traced by comparing the data. This book aims to highlight problems and solutions related to conventional energy utilization, formation, and multitudes of ecological impacts and tools for the conservation of fossil fuels. The book also discusses modern energy services as one of the sustainable development goals and how the pressure on resource energy disturbs the natural flows. The recent advances in alternative energy sources and their possible future growth are discussed and on how conventional energy leads to greenhouse gas formation, which reduces energy use efficiency. The different policies and models operating is also addressed, and the gaps that remained between them. Climate change poses a challenge for renewable energy, and thus it is essential to identify the factors that would reduce the possibility of relying on sustainable energy sources. This book will be of interest to researchers and stakeholders, students, industries, NGOs, and governmental agencies directly or indirectly associated with energy research.

This book discusses energy use and its environmental footprint in China, as well as issues concerning the transitional green growth of its economy, a subject of great importance in light of China’s size and its impressive record of economic growth. The book includes expert overviews and empirical studies prepared by internationally recognized experts in the field. The empirical techniques utilized by the contributors include econometrics, mathematical programming, and index numbers. The book will provide readers a deeper understanding of the energy and environmental issues China now faces during its transitional growth period, and of the strategies available for resolving these issues. The 2016 Asia-Pacific Productivity Conference, held in Nankai University, Tianjin China from July 7-10, was organized by Nankai University’s College of Economic and Social Development (CESD) in collaboration with the School of Economics Nankai University and Collaborative Innovation Center for China Economy. The primary objective of the event was to highlight the latest developments in efficiency and productivity research.

"Daly is turning economics inside out by putting the earth and its diminishing natural resources at the center of the field . . . a kind of reverse Copernican revolution in economics." --Utne Reader "Considered by most to be the dean of ecological economics, Herman E. Daly elegantly topples many shibboleths in Beyond Growth. Daly challenges the conventional notion that growth is always good, and he bucks environmentalist orthodoxy, arguing that the current focus on 'sustainable development' is misguided and that the phrase itself has become meaningless." --Mother Jones "In Beyond Growth, . . . [Daly] derides the concept of 'sustainable growth' as an oxymoron. . . . Calling Mr. Daly 'an unsung hero,' Robert Goodland, the World Bank's top environmental adviser, says, 'He has been a voice crying in the wilderness.'" --G. Pascal Zachary, The Wall Street Journal "A new book by that most far-seeing and heretical of economists, Herman Daly. For 25 years now, Daly has been thinking through a new economics that accounts for the wealth of nature, the value of community and the necessity for morality." --Donella H. Meadows, Los Angeles Times "For clarity of vision and ecological wisdom Herman Daly has no peer among contemporary economists. . . . Beyond Growth is essential reading." --David W. Orr, Oberlin College "There is no more basic ethical question than the one Herman Daly is asking." --Hal Kahn, The San Jose Mercury News "Daly's critiques of economic orthodoxy . . . deliver a powerful and much-needed jolt to conventional thinking." --Karen Pennar, Business Week Named one of a hundred "visionaries who could change your life" by the Utne Reader,Herman Daly is the recipient of many awards, including a Grawemeyer Award, the Heineken Prize for environmental science, and the "Alternative Nobel Prize," the Right Livelihood Award. He is professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs, and coauthor with John Cobb, Jr., of For the Common Good.