Edited by Adnan A. Hezri and Wilhelm Hofmeister. Published in Singapore by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and ISIS Malaysia.
175 pages (2012) ISBN 978-981-07-1799-5
RM 40.00 [Available from ISIS Malaysia]
The transition to sustainable energy systems is still at an embryonic stage. As this energy transition involves hard choices politically, economically, and technologically, countries can benefit from a comparative lesson-drawing across geographical divides. In thirteen chapters, the book entitled “Towards a Green Economy: In Search of Sustainable Energy Policies for the Future” documents the vagaries of problem framing and policy responses by nine countries, all of which are guided by recurrent themes of energy transition, policy choices and green economy. The book’s analytical scope goes well beyond the commonly addressed structural issue in energy policy to encompass innovation in processes, institutions and new policy instruments for sustainable energy systems. Chapters 3 to 4 demonstrate the struggles of major energy consumers such as United States, China, India and Brazil in switching to cleaner energy sources. Chapters 7 and 8 concentrate on the cases of Malaysia and Laos. These two Southeast Asian countries are currently at different stages of economic development but share the common trait of a rising energy demand and associated social issues. The last four chapters (9-12) of the book present innovative energy policies by pioneering states such as France, Germany and Australia. Evidently from all chapters, there is no one-size-fits-all policy The subtitle of the book—in search of sustainable energy policies for the future— reflects the tentative nature of policy experiments undertaken so far.
