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Jeremy Leggett's book

Jeremy Leggett’s book

Jeremy Leggett’s book free to download

Local man turned environmentalist, Jeremy Leggett, has updated his book: The Winning of the Carbon War: Power and politics on the front lines of climate and clean energy – and its free to download. Here’s his latest message to those interested in his insights and analyses, post-Paris climate change talks.

“I wondered what the news of the day would be, on the day I finished the book”, he ponders. “It is that more people now work in the US solar industry than in US oil and gas extraction.

“There will be many more stories of transition like this in 2016 and beyond. The drama I witnessed at the Paris climate summit should make sure of that. Senior people involved closely in the negotiations have helped me by reading my narrative and suggesting edits, so I am hoping that what you read will prove to be both interesting and accurate.

“The first printed books will be ready for instant dispatch online next week, I am told (for sale, all profits to SolarAid).”

His latest sign off: “I am writing this from the UAE (United Arab Emirates). Please allow me to sign off, accordingly with what His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, said a few days ago. ‘We must invest in education. If we do so correctly now, in 50 years, when we ship off the last barrel of petrol, we will not be sad. I promise you, my brothers and sisters, we will be celebrating.’ Onward to the renaissance.”

Who is Jeremy Leggett (apart from being an ex William Parker student), why has he written a book and what motivates him? Here are excerpts from his website.

The book

“The chronicle covers the energy, climate and (to a lesser extent) financial crises, and issues pertinent to society’s response to this nexus. It consists of selections from one person’s reading experience of the unfolding dramas that most preoccupy him, among the all-too numerous dramas inherent in the human condition. It wasn’t my idea, to be honest. Younger colleagues at Solarcentury told me I should share the essence of my reading. They designed the first site for me. Solarcentury alumnus, Oli Sylvester-Bradley, designed the latest version for me”.

Jeremy Leggett on Jeremy Leggett

“Let me explain why am I worried about these issues. I researched earth history for 14 years, and so know a bit about what makes up the climate system. I researched oil source rocks for several of those years, funded by BP and Shell among others, and I explored for oil and gas in the Middle East and Asia, so I have a background in the issues relevant to peak oil. And more recently I have been a clean-energy entrepreneur and investor for more than a decade, as founder of a solar energy company and founding director of a Swiss venture capital fund, so I have seen how the capital markets operate close to. That experience is the basis for my concerns.”

Motivation

“Many of the critics who comment on my blogs urge readers to discount everything I say because I am trying to sell solar energy, and so therefore must be in it for the money, hyping concerns about climate change and peak oil in the cause of self enrichment. (As you would). They have it completely the wrong way round.

“I left a lucrative career consulting for the oil industry, and teaching its technicians, because I was concerned about global warming and wanted to act on that concern. I joined Greenpeace (1989), on a fraction of my former income, to campaign for clean energy. I left Greenpeace (1997) to set up a non-profit organisation campaigning for clean energy. I turned it into a for-profit company (1999) because I came to the view that was the best possible way I could campaign for clean energy – by creating a commercial success that could show the way.

“The company I set up gives 5% of its operating profit to a charity that also campaigns for clean energy, SolarAid. All that said, I hope Solarcentury makes a lot of money. It won’t have succeeded in its mission if it doesn’t. I’m hoping fewer people will still want to discount my arguments, knowing the history. But then again, an awful lot of bile gets split in some of the comments on my Guardian blog, and I could be being naive.”

Free download of The Winning of the Carbon War here.

Buy a copy of the book here. All profits to Solar Aid.

Jeremy Leggett website.

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Posted 11:06 Wednesday, Jan 20, 2016 In: Energy Wise

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