Heather Lovell

Memory and Institutional Amnesia in Government examines the way in which government suffers from institutional amnesia, meaning that it cannot hold or use memory of the past. Consequently, a great deal of important knowledge is erased and those who work in government find themselves repeating the mistakes of the past. The book explores these issues through a comparison of the public services of Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom in which the authors establish the causes of institutional amnesia, analyze its effects, and recommend a series of treatments that might remedy the problems that it causes.

This open access book uses smart grids to explore and better understand energy innovation, from a social science perspective. Understanding Energy Innovation has four core themes—networks, nodes, narratives and nostalgia—and each chapter tackles a theme, using case studies from Australia and Europe. Energy innovation is currently occurring at a rapid pace, in response to a host of problems including climate change, high energy prices, and unreliable supply. Understanding Energy Innovation provides ways to think about and plan for energy sector reform and innovation, drawing on core ideas from social and innovation theory, and centred on smart grids as a case study. These academic ideas are written about in an accessible way, recognising that a diversity of people have an interest in energy innovation generally, and smart grids more specifically, and would like to find out more about ways of understanding energy innovation that integrate the social and the political.

This open access book uses smart grids to explore and better understand energy innovation, from a social science perspective. Understanding Energy Innovation has four core themes—networks, nodes, narratives and nostalgia—and each chapter tackles a theme, using case studies from Australia and Europe. Energy innovation is currently occurring at a rapid pace, in response to a host of problems including climate change, high energy prices, and unreliable supply. Understanding Energy Innovation provides ways to think about and plan for energy sector reform and innovation, drawing on core ideas from social and innovation theory, and centred on smart grids as a case study. These academic ideas are written about in an accessible way, recognising that a diversity of people have an interest in energy innovation generally, and smart grids more specifically, and would like to find out more about ways of understanding energy innovation that integrate the social and the political.

The Making of Low Carbon Economies looks at how more than two decades of sustained effort at climate change mitigation has resulted in a variety of new practices, rules and ways of doing things: a period of active construction of low carbon economies. From outer space observations of the carbon in tropical forests, to carbon financial reporting, and insulating solid masonry walls, these diverse things, activities and objects are integral to how climate change has been brought into being as a problem. The book takes a fresh look at society’s response to climate change by examining a diverse array of empirical sites where climate change is being made real through its incorporation into everyday lives – a process of stitching climate concerns into the discourse and practices of already existing economies, as well as creating new economies. The Making of Low Carbon Economies adds fresh insights to economic sociology and science and technology studies scholarship on the multiple origins and heterogeneous operation of markets, demonstrating the constraints and opportunities of an economic framing of the problem of climate change. It covers the obvious (and now well-researched) topic of carbon markets, as well as new more unusual material on the low carbon reframing of already existing markets and economies.

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.

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.

The Making of Low Carbon Economies looks at how more than two decades of sustained effort at climate change mitigation has resulted in a variety of new practices, rules and ways of doing things: a period of active construction of low carbon economies. From outer space observations of the carbon in tropical forests, to carbon financial reporting, and insulating solid masonry walls, these diverse things, activities and objects are integral to how climate change has been brought into being as a problem. The book takes a fresh look at society’s response to climate change by examining a diverse array of empirical sites where climate change is being made real through its incorporation into everyday lives – a process of stitching climate concerns into the discourse and practices of already existing economies, as well as creating new economies. The Making of Low Carbon Economies adds fresh insights to economic sociology and science and technology studies scholarship on the multiple origins and heterogeneous operation of markets, demonstrating the constraints and opportunities of an economic framing of the problem of climate change. It covers the obvious (and now well-researched) topic of carbon markets, as well as new more unusual material on the low carbon reframing of already existing markets and economies.