Abstract
Sustainable energy systems are crucial to all three dimensions of sustainable development and thus central for mitigating climate change and achieving sustainable economic and social development. In order to play this role, current unsustainable energy systems need to undergo a major transition. This chapter first sketches core structural features of anthropogenic energy systems and discusses their relevance for addressing global challenges. Then, the main elements and strategies to make energy systems more sustainable as well as examples on political and societal challenges of this transformation are given.
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Notes
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Both, activities and welfare, are often expressed in terms of GDP, which of course is to many respects a simplification. At least above certain levels, welfare is not a direct function of income levels nor is the income a very appropriate measure for the various activities which are supplied by the use of energy.
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Lechtenböhmer, S., Nilsson, L.J. (2016). Sustainable Energy Systems. In: Heinrichs, H., Martens, P., Michelsen, G., Wiek, A. (eds) Sustainability Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7242-6_19
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