Energy transitions

Contrary to common impression, global energy use in the 19th century was dominated by wood, not coal; and in the 20th century by coal, not oil. Not until 1964 did oil overtake coal as the world's prime mover. Even today, coal provides the world more energy than natural gas. Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects shows that any energy transition -- the interval between the introduction of a new primary energy source and its rise to 20-30 percent of a national or global energy market -- takes decades or even centuries. Energy transitions are inherently complex and intractably…