National Perspectives on Management of Energy/Environment Systems

The first part of this book is composed of a set of chapters on the management and planning of energy/environment systems in twelve different countries both East and West. The term "energy/environment systems" here describes the socioeconomic and technological aspects of energy and their relationship to the natural and man-made environments. The basic philosophy is that there is a very close relationship between the methods employed in the management of these systems and the institutional framework within which they must operate. By studying the way in which energy/environment problems are tackled in one country, it is hoped not only to identify the management and planning tools being used, but also to see whether they could be applied with equal success in countries with a different social, economic, and political structure. The approach is therefore both methodological and policy-oriented. Each chapter is written by an expert from the country concerned, and in addition to a description of the management and planning techniques used includes an analysis of national energy supply and demand, an assessment of the environmental effects of energy systems, and an explanation of how these analyses are incorporated in the decision-making process.
The second part of the book takes a retrospective look at the IIASA case studies of four regions already described in Volume 5 of this series and elsewhere. The main features of the energy/environment scenarios developed for these four regions are summarized, important issues treated in the scenarios are discussed (energy conservation, energy supply strategies, air pollution, and the coal option), and representatives from the four regions assess, retrospectively, the value of the IIASA study.

VIEW CONTENT