This book is a non-ideological contribution to the highly controversial discussion on the ‘energy transition’ to a post fossil fuel era, and on the decision making process of climate policy versus low-carbon energy/economic systems. Alberto Clò looks at how and why the world has failed to tackle the issue of global warming and argues for a new pragmatic rethinking of energy policy , based on an essential statistical apparatus and an ample bibliography. The volume is characterized by the independence of judgment with respect to the opposing factions that divide science and politics in regards to man-made climate change. It’s readership can range from academic scholars to members of the energy industry, national/international organizations, members of environmental movements and policy makers.

The Paris Agreement, signed at the end of 2015 by 196 States, seemed at the time to be a great political and diplomatic success for international cooperation in the fight against climate change. However, things have not gone as planned. Most of the states are not respecting the commitments they made in their National Plans presented in Paris, they are merely carrying on as usual. The problem seems to be that Paris did not in fact represent a historical turning point but was in fact merely empty promises. The intent of this book is twofold. Firstly: to investigate the critical issues of a rapid ‘energy transition’ from fossil fuels to newer and cleaner energy sources from a range of perspectives including energy, technology, economic and social. Secondly: to discuss the reality of the situation without ‘making it easy’, and avoiding the hypocrisy, bias and superficiality that often affect the current debate on a revolutionary ‘energy transition’ and climate policy in general.

Alberto Clò was Full Professor of Applied Economics at the Department of Economics at the University of Bologna. From 1995-1996, he held the office of Italian Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade and he was President of the Council of Energy Ministers of the European Union during the semester of the Italian Presidency of the European Union.