The Sussex Energy Group at SPRU in association with the Centre on Innovation and Energy Demand,  invites you to a public lecture

• Professor Michael Grubb presenting findings from his recently published book: Planetary Economics: Energy, Climate Change and the Three Domains of Sustainable Development
• Chaired by Prof. Johan Schot, Director of SPRU and with discussants Prof. Jim Watson, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Sussex and Research Director of UK Energy Research Centre and Mariana Mazzucato, RM Phillips chair in the Economics of Innovation at SPRU
  the University of Sussex
• Thursday 15 May 6.00-7.30pm, followed by a drinks reception
• Jubilee Lecture Theatre, School of Business, Management and Economics, University of Sussex

Summary:
How well do our assumptions about the global challenges of energy, environment and economic development fit the facts? Energy prices have varied hugely between countries and over time, yet the share of national income spent on energy has remained surprisingly constant. The foundational theories of economic growth account for only about half the growth observed in practice. Despite escalating warnings for more than two decades about the planetary risks of rising greenhouse gas emissions, most governments have seemed powerless to change course.

In this public lecture,  Professor Michael Grubb,  Chair of Energy and Climate Policy at the Cambridge University Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research, and Senior Advisor on Sustainable Energy Policy to the UK Energy Regulator Ofgem, presents findings from his new book Planetary Economics  which shows the surprising links between these seemingly unconnected facts. He will argue  that tackling the energy and environmental problems of the 21st Century requires three different domains of decision-making to be recognised and connected. Each domain involves different theoretical foundations, draws on different areas of evidence, and implies different policies.

The book shows that the transformation of energy systems involves all three domains – and each is equally important. From them flow three pillars of policy (standards and engagement, markets and prices, innovation and infrastructure)  – three quite distinct kinds of actions that need to be taken, which rest on fundamentally different principles. Any pillar on its own will fail.

In this lecture, hosted by  SPRU, Professor Grubb will focus in particular on the third pillar of innovation and infrastructure. He will set out the evidence and explain why energy is “different” in terms of innovation, the elements of successful innovation strategies, and the factors that tend to lock us in to high-carbon energy systems.

Join us for this unique opportunity to hear about and discuss analysis which brings together the lessons from 25 years of research and implementation of energy and climate policies.

Biography
Professor Michael Grubb is Chair of Energy and Climate Policy at the Cambridge University Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research, and Senior Advisor on Sustainable Energy Policy to the UK Energy Regulator Ofgem . He is editor-in-chief of the journal Climate Policy , is on the editorial board of Energy Policy and was recently the Specialist Advisor to a House of Lords European Committee enquiry: ‘No Country is an Energy Island: securing investment for the EU’s Future’ (2013). His former positions include Chair of the international research organization Climate Strategies; Chief Economist at the Carbon Trust; Professor of Climate Change and Energy Policy at Imperial College London; and Head of Energy and Environment at Chatham House, and he continues to be associated with these institutions. In 2008 he was appointed to the UK Climate Change Committee, established under the UK Climate Change Bill to advise the government on future carbon budgets and to report to Parliament on their implementation.

Michael Grubb is author of seven books, fifty journal research articles and numerous other publications. He has held numerous advisory positions with governments, companies and international studies on climate change and energy policy, and has been a Lead Author for several reports of the IPCC on mitigation, including the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.