Synopses & Reviews
Despite commitments to renewable energy and two decades of international negotiations, global emissions continue to rise. Coal, the most damaging of all fossil fuels, has actually risen from 25% to almost 30% of world energy use. And while European countries have congratulated themselves on reducing emissions, they have increased their carbon imports from China and other developing nations, who continue to expand their coal use. As standards of living increase in developing countries, coal use can only increase as well—and global temperatures along with it.
In this hard-hitting book, Dieter Helm looks at how and why we have failed to tackle the issue of global warming and argues for a new, pragmatic rethinking of energy policy—from transitioning from coal to gas and eventually to electrification of transport, to carbon pricing and a focus on new technologies. Lucid, compelling and rigorously researched, this book will have a lasting impact on how we think about climate change.
Review
“Helms credentials couldnt be more impressive…This intelligent though depressing tome should inform future debates.”—
Publishers WeeklyReview
“An optimistically levelheaded book about actually dealing with global warming.”—
Kirkus, starred review
Review
“At such a critical moment in the climate change conversation, Dieter Helm’s new book…could not be more timely.”—
AmericaReview
“[The Carbon Crunch] serves as a velvet sledgehammer in the global conversation about climate change.—
AmericaReview
“A lucid, readable volume on a critical issue.”—
ChoiceReview
Honorable Mention, General-Non-Fiction category at the 2013 Green Book Festival sponsored by JM Northern LLC
Synopsis
In this hard-hitting book, Dieter Helm looks at how and why we have failed to tackle the issue of global warming and argues for a new, pragmatic rethinking of energy policy.
Synopsis
Hard-hitting recommendations for what must be done to manage global natural capital and reverse environmental destruction
Natural capital is what nature provides to us for free. Renewables--like species--keep on coming, provided we do not drive them towards extinction. Non-renewables--like oil and gas--can only be used once. Together, they are the foundation that ensures our survival and well-being, and the basis of all economic activity. In the face of the global, local, and national destruction of biodiversity and ecosystems, economist Dieter Helm here offers a crucial set of strategies for establishing natural capital policy that is balanced, economically sustainable, and politically viable.
Helm shows why the commonly held view that environmental protection poses obstacles to economic progress is false, and he explains why the environment must be at the very core of economic planning. He presents the first real attempt to calibrate, measure, and value natural capital from an economic perspective and goes on to outline a stable new framework for sustainable growth. Bristling with ideas of immediate global relevance, Helm's book shifts the parameters of current environmental debate. As inspiring as his trailblazing The Carbon Crunch, this volume will be essential reading for anyone concerned with reversing the headlong destruction of our environment.
About the Author
Dieter Helm, CBE, is professor of energy policy, University of Oxford and fellow in Economics at New College, Oxford. He is a member of the Economic Advisory Committee to the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and Chair of the Natural Capital Committee.