ESRC Society Today

Providing the world with reliable, affordable energy without damaging the environment is a major challenge for policymakers. Energy policy developments are not only a crucial element in confronting the prospect of rapid climate change; they are increasingly important in maintaining geopolitical stability, as was seen during the Ukraine/Russia gas crisis of late 2005.

Energy policy is also inherently a source of conflicts of interest between industry and government and within Whitehall, because of the wider implications for international competitiveness, economic growth and taxation. The Rio Summit in 1992 spawned a series of international meetings, agreements, wish lists and policy recommendations for sustainable development. Translating them into action has proved far more difficult.  

Social science has an important contribution to make in this transition period, both in understanding the contradictions of human behaviour towards the environment, and in collaborative work with other disciplines to explore the complexities and uncertainties of developing a sustainable energy policy.

• Demand for energy soars, but supplies are declining
• Security of supply
• Policy responses
• Living in a 'carbon-constrained world'
• Energy efficiency is the way forward
• Decarbonising the UK
• Environment and human behaviour
• Do we need a new generation of nuclear power stations?
• Welcome to the future
• Paths to sustainable energy
• The energy debate summarised