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This chapter focuses on traditional energy sources in Europe. It first provides an overview of energy sources and energy consumption in premodern Europe before discussing organic energy sources and agricultures, looking in particular at food demand, a global perspective on the European agriculture, intensification and population, working animals, animal power, forests, firewood consumption, and coal and peat as fuels. The chapter proceeds by considering three non-organic energy sources, namely: gunpowder, water, and wind. Finally, it describes seven long-run propositions regarding Europe's energy system in an economic context: predominance of reproducible sources; energy supply and demand are closely related to climate; transport costs are a major barrier to growth; the economy is limited by low power; high energy intensity and low energy productivity; a diffuse geography of energy; and higher European than non-European consumption of energy.

This chapter examines the emergence of a modern energy regime in Europe. It begins with a discussion of the increase in energy consumption and how a combination of coal, engine, and iron coalesced to form the “development block” that characterized and drove the first industrial revolution. It then considers the role of coal in the new geography of energy supply, divergence in energy regimes, and urbanization and pollution. It also describes the rise and relative decline of traditional energy sources such as calories from the soil, food demand, working animals, firewood, water power, and wind power. The chapter shows that the amount of renewable energy available to each inhabitant in Europe was falling in the case of every single carrier except food, as population growth outstripped supply.

This chapter discusses the place of energy in world history. It examines historical milestones—such as the rise of larger populations organized with greater social complexity into nation-states and supranational collectives, and enjoying a higher quality of life—in terms of dominant energy sources and leading prime movers, as well as the most important socioeconomic consequences of these technical changes. It also considers grand patterns in the consumption of energy throughout history, focusing on the long-term relationship between human accomplishments and dominant energy sources and changing prime movers in terms of energy eras and transitions. Finally, it outlines trends that have accompanied the growth of unit power of inanimate prime movers and the accumulation of their total capacity; transformations of the fossil-fuel era including new structures of social relations; imperatives of energy needs and uses; and the importance of harnessing energies and controlling their conversion to supply.

This chapter searches for adequate, sustainable, safe, and secure energy supplies for the long term. It argues that human history is linked to energy use, therefore human progress and prosperity necessitates more efficient uses and more abundant supplies of energy. Energy is critical for sustaining our growing global population and in preserving a habitable environment and producing all the materials, objects, resources, and other things we need to live in it. Hence the chapter looks at two categories of energy sources: renewable and nonrenewable. It looks at how these energy sources occur, how they are discovered, extracted, refined, transported, and used. In addition, the chapter examines their reserves, costs, and future contribution to our needs. Finally, the chapter looks at where we stand in terms of future needs, future supplies, and the policies we need to sustain our society.

China is in the transformation phase from a rural society to an industrial society, from a planned economy to a market economy. The major challenges which China's power industry is facing are: how to establish and improve an effective power market mechanism and the supporting governmental administrative system; how to improve energy efficiency; how to safeguard security of energy supply; how to improve the coal-oriented energy mix; and how to promote the healthy and orderly development of renewable energy. This chapter provides an introduction to the market reforms in China's power industry; analyses the influence of renewable energy sources on energy network enterprises such as grid companies; and discusses the basic duties, difficulties, and the possible solution of China's network companies with regard to the promotion of renewable energy sources.

This chapter first sets out the purpose of the book, which is to discuss the role of networks in the energy sector, how these networks have developed, are being regulated, and what the impact can be of future market developments on network regulation. It then presents a historical and contemporary perspective on all aspects of energy, showing that the energy sector is constantly changing due to the availability of energy sources and technical developments. The discussion then turns to networks, changing markets, and the role of the law. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.

The TANSTAAFL principle— ‘There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch’—controls everything on our energy menu. All forms of energy have their negative impacts on sustainable development values—including impacts on the environment and human health, as well as those affecting human rights, empowerment of women, energy security, and the economy. Many ‘free lunches’ are being and will be proposed. Most will be, in the words of one of our foremost climate change experts, ‘planetary methadone for our planetary heroin addiction’ to energy. The key is always to analyse each energy source for its full life-cycle impacts. Fossil fuels have unacceptably more clear, more numerous, more severe, and more permanent risks for our world than most of the alternatives. Viewed through the lens of costs and benefits, getting ‘beyond the carbon economy’ is no longer just an environmentalist issue. It is an environmental and survival necessity. This chapter looks at a number of alternative energy sources such as nuclear power, biomass, hydropower, geothermal energy, solar energy, wind energy, and hydrogen and fuel cells.

This chapter explores how solar radiation is the climate's fundamental energy source. It considers the solar radiance at the top of the Earth's atmosphere, its variation with location and season, and its energy distribution within the climate system. Changes in the radiation balance are capable of influencing global surface temperature and may thus be involved in climate change. The chapter also investigates the radiative processes which influence the atmospheric temperature structure and some of the chemical processes, particularly those influenced by solar radiation, that determine atmospheric composition. To understand how variations in solar activity might affect climate it is necessary to look at the amount and distribution of solar energy reaching the Earth.

Military technology incorporated the elements of hardware, procedure, and personnel in the same way as the technology of civilian production, and before the coming of gunpowder it was equally reliant on muscle power as an energy source. The fundamental problem of pre-gunpowder field and siege combat was the same as it was in the sphere of production: how to make the most effective use of muscle power. There were three possible solutions to the problem: the use of hardware to store and transmit energy, specialisation allied to the division of labour, and the exploitation of animal power. The rise and fall of tactical systems depended ultimately on their success or failure in winning battles. Siege or manoeuvre, rather than open-field battle, often decided the outcome of campaigns.

Energy from renewable sources holds great promise for meeting the energy and development needs of countries throughout the world, without the negative external impacts of fossil fuels. This promise is particularly strong for developing countries where many areas have not yet committed to fossil fuel dominance, and where some two billion people have no access to electricity. Renewable energy sources vary widely in technical and economic characteristics, and include a considerable number of proven and emerging technologies. Hydropower, wind energy, biomass, geothermal energy, and solar energy are the most established and widely used types of renewable energy. Virtually every expert who has addressed the energy aspects of sustainable development and the need to move to a low-carbon future has concluded that renewable resources should play a major role. This chapter examines the economic, social, and legal barriers that prevent established renewable energy resources from reaching their potential and how they can be overcome by implementing effective types and mixes of legislation.

This chapter begins by introducing the topic of energy security. It then provides an overview of Singapore's energy needs and its sources of energy. It gives an historical overview of Singapore's oil trade and gas markets. It examines Singapore's energy security policies, including the restructuring of the Singapore power industry. It investigates energy security in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It highlights that Singapore is highly dependent on energy because energy is used as an intermediate input for its production processes, and that it is also a final commodity for the market. It adds that all the energy Singapore uses is imported, with oil as the dominant import, but with an increasing share in natural gas.

This chapter analyses Mexico's energy sector from the following perspectives: the importance that the oil industry has had in the Mexican economy since it was nationalised in 1938, taking into account the role of this governmental monopoly as the main source of public income and its influence on social, economic, and technological development; the role of legislation in promoting or preventing the use of alternative energy sources to reduce the dependence on such industry and to deal with environmental degradation; and the role of the Clean Development Mechanism in promoting renewable energy. The chapter includes a revision of the compatibility between the objectives established by Mexican Energy Plans and Programs and the constitutional and legal provisions regarding promotion of renewable energy sources.

This chapter discusses how there are two recurring central themes when reflecting on why Australia was, and remains, so rich. First, the interactions between the principal determinants of growth have been more important to the outcomes than the role of any one factor—such as investment, institutions, or resources. Second, it is precisely due to the shifting basis of its prosperity that Australia has managed to sustain its status as a rich economy over so long a period and despite numerous negative shocks. Within the resources sector, the shifts have been between farming and mining; as well as among a range of foodstuffs, fibers, minerals, and energy sources. And for part of the twentieth century, when commodity-based prosperity proved elusive, manufacturing played a supporting role.

This chapter discusses that Spain relies upon foreign sources of energy, and so security issues are of paramount importance. It notes that under these conditions, Spain tries to diversify the sources of energy supplies to build stocks for emergency situations, promote the use of indigenous resources such as coal and renewable energy, and foster a rational and efficient use of energy. It adds that international interconnections — international gas pipelines and electricity lines — are vital. It explains that from the perspective of the continuity and regularity of electricity supply, some regulatory reforms are needed, and some are already being implemented by the government, in order to avoid further blackouts like those which took place on December 17, 2001.

In 1997, the European Union (EU) resolved to increase the overall share of renewable energy sources (encompassing heating, electricity generation, and transport) within the EU to 12 per cent by 2010. The main reasons for adopting these targets are to mitigate climate change and to increase the diversity and security of European energy supply. This chapter examines some of the obstacles that must be overcome by European energy laws and policies, and assesses the effectiveness of measures that have been adopted to date. Because the legal issues that arise differ depending on the form of renewable energy in question, the chapter concentrates on renewable electricity generation in general, and on wind power in particular. Furthermore, because the means of achieving European renewable targets have, until now, been left largely to individual member states, albeit constrained by European Commission law, two case studies of the development of wind energy in Denmark and the United Kingdom are explored.

Moving beyond the carbon economy requires, on the one hand, greater reliance on renewable energy sources combined with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and, on the other hand, a reduction in energy consumption by promoting energy efficiency and eco-technologies. This chapter explores how law can act on market forces in transitioning beyond the carbon economy in order to reach a sustainable energy model. New legal instruments based on market regulation are increasingly being used to that purpose and are intended to stimulate the required change of habits. New in their approach, often perceived as complex, even unknown to the individual consumer, marked-based instruments (MBIs) have become popular tools. In examining the role of MBIs in transitioning to a lower-carbon future, the experience of the European Union is discussed, and comparisons are drawn with the pioneer of MBIs, the United States. This chapter also looks at the rationales for the use of MBIs and analyses the underlying similarities and differences among MBIs, in particular green, white, and brown certificates.

This chapter focuses on the fuel and energy sectors in Russia with emphasis on energy policy and legislation. It examines the traditional hydrocarbons, hydropower, nuclear energy, and alternative energy sources. It considers the impact of such international events as the 2006 St Petersburg meeting of the G8 and the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and such national concerns as energy security. It also reviews legislative and institutional measures that define energy preferences. Such topics include tax regulation, fees and charges, benefits, regulation of ownership and privatisation of reserves and energy utilities, permitting and licensing of energy activities, and environmental restrictions.

This chapter discusses that the demand for all sources of energy is growing in Mexico. It adds that financial resources are needed to support the investments which will satisfy the demands. It notes that the growing incorporation of Mexico into the global economy demands the privatisation of the energy sector. It explains that the challenge for Mexico in the twenty-first century is to design a new legal regime which allows the participation of private investment, but at the same time guarantees the national sovereignty of the resources, and the sustainable development in the sector.

This chapter discusses the need for combined transition to renewable energy sources, reduction of non-CO₂ greenhouse gases, and avoidance of any new emissions. Climate cannot be restored back to lower CO₂ conditions than today if we don’t stop humanity’s enormous greenhouse gas emissions. But activating more and more emissions-reducing measures won’t suffice if we allow our total energy hunger and general consumerism, and thus emissions, to keep increasing year on year. Therefore, we also need strategies for avoiding addition of new emissions associated with the progressive growth and development of society, and with humanity's tendency for excessive consumerism. Finally, as with all large-scale developments, renewable alternatives have downsides and face challenges to their implementation. These are discussed in the final section of this chapter.

The evolution of the modern international law of the sea has been particularly sensitive to, and influenced by, developments in scientific knowledge and technology. An obvious example of this is in the great strides made in offshore drilling and mining techniques that stimulated the development of the legal regime for exploration and exploitation of continental shelf resources, as well as latterly, the deep seabed mining regime. A more recent trend influencing the development of the law of the sea is the scientific progress made in assessing the growing threat posed by human activities to the marine environment. This has had a consequential impact on the progressive evolution of marine environmental law, which has as its main concern the application of the concept or objective of sustainable development to human activities within the marine sphere. The attainment of the ‘sustainable development’ objective within this context in turn relies at least in part on the application or implementation of the principle of sustainable use of natural resources. This chapter examines whether the sustainable use principle can also be applied to the conservation of the non-living, mineral, and especially hydrocarbon, resources of the continental shelf.