Delivering renewable energy in volumes and prices that can begin to reduce our dependence on carbon fuels is one of the central challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. In our interviews on the subject, academics, business people and politicians choose their top books that help to illustrate the conundrum and how we might find a way out of it in the coming years.

Chris Goodall, author and expert on renewable energy technologies, chooses his best books on energy transitions. He discusses the need to develop cheap and clean energy, given the apparent reluctance or inability of humanity to reduce its energy consumption. These books look at the problems of storing solar energy and the possibility of mitigating some of the effects of global warming through geo-engineering, trying to manage the sun’s radiation through putting a ‘chemical blanket’ into space to protect the earth’s surface.

Jerry McNerney—US congressman, energy expert and engineer—discusses the twin energy crisis and clean energy. He explains how he got involved in the development of renewable energy in the 1970s long before he moved into politics, and discusses the problems of moving from an oil-driven economy. He points out that even without the environmental threat, there are strong reasons to develop renewables rather than allow a global competition for ever-depleting carbon resources. Juliet Davenport, CEO of Good Energy (the UK’s on 100% renewable energy supplier), chooses her best books on renewable energy and argues that the UK can transition to 100% renewable use. Last, author and journalist Bob Johnstone chooses his best books on solar power.