Routledge Sustainable Urban Energy Policy: Heat and the city (Routledge Studies in Energy Policy)

Minimising the most severe risks of climate change means ending societal dependence on fossil fuels, and radically improving the efficiency with which we use all energy sources. Such deliberate transformative change is, however, without precedent. Sustainable Urban Energy Policy debates the major public issue of developing a sustainable, clean and affordable energy system by adopting a distinctive focus on heating in cities. In this way, the book constructs an original account of clean energy policy, politics and provision, grounded in new empirical data derived from case studies of urban and multi-level governance of sustainable heat and energy saving in the UK and Europe. Offering an original conceptual framework, this study builds on socio-technical studies, economic and urban sociology, human geography, applied economics and policy studies in order to understand energy governance and systemic change in energy provisions. This book is a valuable resource for students and academics in the areas of Science and Technology Studies, Sociology, Geography (Urban Studies) and Political Economy as well as energy policy makers, social housing providers and energy practitioners. Review 'Debates about the future of energy systems often focus on electricity, and pay insufficient attention to the energy we use as heat in homes and businesses. This book is an exception. It is a valuable resource for anyone wishing to understand the organisational, economic and policy challenges of implementing more sustainable heat infrastructures in cities.' – Jim Watson, Director, UK Energy Research Centre'Two essential yet under-recognised truths about climate and energy leap out from this thoughtful and timely book. First, that there can be no sustainable energy system without a fundamental shift in the way we heat and cool our buildings and second, that despite its global implications, the battle for climate change will be fought not in the hallowed halls of the United Nations but house by house and street by street in cities around the world.' – Paul Voss, Managing Director, EuroHeat and Power, Brussels'An original, well-researched and authoritative analysis, characteristic of the authors, and a crucial read for anyone seeking to understand the current provision of heat in the UK. With an unprecedented transformation of the UK energy system occurring, this book provides insights based on practical international experience of the history, cultural differences, political processes and power relations that will drive those changes.' – Mike Colechin, UK Energy Technologies Institute 'Conceptually rich and empirically engaging, Sustainable Urban Energy Policy opens up the largely taken for granted provision of heat in the city to critical inquiry and provides new insights into the politically and socially contested nature of low carbon transitions. Essential reading for researchers and policy makers alike.’ – Harriet Bulkeley, University of Durham, UK "Sustainable Urban Energy Policy provides an excellent critical and comparative analysis of the obduracy of existing heating systems and the remarkable difficulties of transforming these into sustainable heat networks. Although the technologies of sustainable heating are well understood, this book powerfully demonstrates that social and political issues explain why the alternatives are not implemented at scale in the city. If you want to properly understand why more effective intervention is crucial to realise the wider societal and environmental potential of metropolitan wide heat networks then read this book." – Simon Marvin, Director of the Urban Institute, University of Sheffield, UK About the Author David Hawkey is a Research Fellow in the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, UK.Janette Webb is Professor of Sociology of Organisations in the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, UK.Heather Lovell holds joint positions