Mark Diesendorf

CRC for Low Carbon Living

Dr Mark Diesendorf has a BSc (Hons) in physics and a PhD in applied mathematics. Previously, he was a principal research scientist in CSIRO, a senior lecturer at the Australian National University and then Professor of Environmental Science and Founding Director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at University of Technology Sydney. Nowadays, as an honorary academic, he does interdisciplinary research in renewable energy, nuclear energy, energy policy, ecological economics and sustainable development. He has authored four scholarly books and published over 100 peer-reviewed journal papers and book chapters. Mark’s interests include the interdisciplinary fields of sustainable energy, sustainable urban transport, theory of sustainability, ecological economics, and practical processes by which government, business and other organisations can achieve ecologically sustainable and socially just development.

He is co-editor of the interdisciplinary book Human Ecology, Human Economy: Ideas for an Ecologically Sustainable Future (1997) and author of Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy (UNSW Press, 2007), Climate Action: A Campaign Manual for Greenhouse Solutions (UNSW Press, 2009), Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change (Routledge & UNSW Press, 2014), and The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation: Technological, Socioeconomic and Political Change, (2023).

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The following lists Mark's publications released through CEEM. 

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Publications

Title & place of publication Author Research area Type Links Year
The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation: Technological, Socioeconomic and Political Change. Mark Diesendorf , Rod Taylor Sustainability & general Books 2023
'Can energy descent be justified by critiquing 100% renewable energy scenarios? A reply to Floyd et al.', Futures, 137 Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy Journal Papers 2022
'Energy systems for sustainable prosperity'. In: Williams SJ & Taylor R (eds) Sustainability and the New Economics: Synthesising ecological economics and modern monetary theory. Springer. ISBN hardcover 978-3-030-78794-3, ISBN eBook 978-3-030-78795-0. Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Book Chapters 2022
'Funding of the energy transition by monetary sovereign countries', Energies, 15 Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring Journal Papers 2022
'It will be impossible to replace fossil fuels by 2050, unless we cut our energy consumption', The Conversation Mark Diesendorf Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation, Sustainability & general Articles 2022
'Net zero by 2050 will hit a major timing problem technology can’t solve. We need to talk about cutting consumption', The Conversation Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general, Technology Assessments Articles 2022
'Scenarios for mitigating CO2 emissions from energy supply in the absence of CO2 removal,' Climate Policy Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Emissions trading Journal Papers 2022
'Scenarios for the rapid phase-out of fossil fuels in Australia in the absence of CO2 removal', Australasian Journal of Environmental Management  Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring Journal Papers 2022
'We must reduce global energy consumption to reach net zero emissions by 2050', illumen Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Articles 2022
Comment on Seibert and Rees (2021), ‘Through the Eye of a Needle: An Eco-Heterodox Perspective on the Renewable Energy Transition’, Energies,15:964 Mark Diesendorf Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2022
'Peter Garrett gives Labor a free pass on climate action', Pearls & Irritations Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Articles 2021
'The politics of reaching net zero', Pearls & Irritations Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Articles 2021
'Too expensive, too slow: even the baseload argument doesn't work for nuclear', RenewEconomy
 
Mark Diesendorf Technology Assessments Articles 2021
'A government program to lock-in fossil fuels', Pearls & Irritations Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Sustainability & general Articles 2020
'Angus Taylor’s tech roadmap is fundamentally flawed — renewables are doable almost everywhere', The Conversation Mark Diesendorf Emissions trading, Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general Articles 2020
'COVID-19 and economic recovery with effective climate mitigation', Global Sustainability, 3.  Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2020
'Economic recovery from Covid-19 while mitigating climate change', Pearls & Irritations Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Articles 2020
'Five reasons why Michael Moore's Planet of the Humans is a bad mistake', RenewEconomy Mark Diesendorf Large-scale Renewable Energy Media 2020
'Implications of trends in energy return on energy invested (EROI) for transitioning to renewable electricity', Ecological Economics 176:106726 Mark Diesendorf , Thomas Wiedmann Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2020
'It’s time for a serious consideration of a job guarantee', Pearls & Irritations Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Articles 2020
'Lessons from Covid-19: Strategic Planning for other Major Risks', Pearls & Irritations Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Sustainability & general Articles 2020
'The last chance to stabilise Earth's climate', Pearls & Irritations Mark Diesendorf Emissions trading, Large-scale Renewable Energy Articles 2020
'The time has come for regulations that drive net zero homes', The Fifth Estate Mark Diesendorf Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation Articles 2020
'Towards an electricity sector with 100% renewable energy generation'. In: Probst O, Castellanos S, Palacios R (eds) Transforming the Grid towards Fully Renewable Energy. London: Institution of Engineering & Technology, pp.23-44.  Mark Diesendorf Large-scale Renewable Energy Book Chapters 2020
'What is a fair carbon budget for Australia?', RenewEconomy Mark Diesendorf , Dennys Angove Emissions trading, Sustainability & general Articles 2020
"Energy futures for Australia", chapter in Decarbonising the Built Environment: Charting the transition, eds. Newton P, Prasad D, Sproule A, White S, Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.35-51. Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring Book Chapters 2019
'Busting myths about renewable energy', Renew Magazine, issue 146 Mark Diesendorf Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general Articles 2019
'Fixing the gap between Labor's greenhouse gas goals and their policies ', The Conversation Mark Diesendorf Electric vehicles, Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation, Large-scale Renewable Energy Articles 2019
'New grid needs cooperation', Canberra Times Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy Articles 2019
'The government's electricity shortlist rightly features pumped hydro (and wrongly includes coal)', The Conversation Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy Articles 2019
'Critiquing the use of war to mobilise peaceful climate action: A response to Kester & Sovacool', Energy Policy 112:1-3.  Laurence L. Delina, Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2018
'Four key steps to take Australia towards 100% renewable electricity', RenewEconomy Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy Articles 2018
'How rapidly can we transition to 100% renewable electricity?' in RenewEconomy Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring Articles 2018
'Is coal power "dispatchable"?', RenewEconomy Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring Articles 2018
'Modeling the carbon budget of the Australian electricity industry's transition to renewable energy' Renewable Energy 125:712-728 Bahareh Sara Howard, Nicholas E. Hamilton, Mark Diesendorf , Thomas Wiedmann Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation Journal Papers 2018
'Renewable electricity policy for Australia', The Australia Institute Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring Reports and Working Papers 2018
'The feasibility of 100% renewable electricity systems: a response to critics', Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews 93:318-330 Mark Diesendorf , Ben Elliston Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation Journal Papers 2018
'Who owns an energy transition? Strategic action fields and community wind energy in Denmark' Energy Research & Social Science 35:108-117 Franziska Mey, Mark Diesendorf Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation Journal Papers 2018
‘Renewable energy breeding’ can stop Australia blowing the carbon budget – if we’re quick', in The Conversation Mark Diesendorf Electricity Markets & Restructuring Articles 2018
'Can local government play a greater role for community renewable energy? A case study from Australia’, Energy Research & Social Science, 21, p33-43 Mey, F., Diesendorf, M., MacGill I. Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2017
'Distributed energy infrastructure paradigm: community microgrids in a new institutional economics context’, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 72, p355-1365 Gui, M., Diesendorf, M., MacGill, I. Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation Journal Papers 2017
'Reliability of 100% Renewable Electricity Supply in the Australian National Electricity Market’, In: T Sidki Uyar (ed.) Towards 100% Renewable Energy. Springer, p.297-303 Elliston, B., Diesendorf, M., MacGill I. Large-scale Renewable Energy Book Chapters 2017
Rapid transition to clean energy will take massive social change’, in The Conversation Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Articles 2016
‘Carbon footprint scenarios for renewable electricity in Australia’, J. Cleaner Production 124, p236-245 Wolfram, P., Wiedmann, T., Diesendorf, M. Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2016
‘Dispelling the nuclear 'baseload' myth: nothing renewables can't do better!’, in The Ecologist Mark Diesendorf Technology Assessments Articles 2016
‘Modeling the benefits of electric cooking in Bhutan: a long term perspective’, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 59, p494–503 Yangka, D., Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2016
‘Renewable energy versus nuclear: dispelling the myths’, in The Ecologist Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Articles 2016
‘Shunning nuclear power but not its waste: assessing the risks of Australia becoming the world's nuclear wasteland’, Energy Research & Social Science 19, p142-147 Diesendorf, M. Technology Assessments Journal Papers 2016
‘Subjective judgments in the nuclear energy debate’, Conservation Biology 30(3), p666-669 Diesendorf, M. Technology Assessments Journal Papers 2016
‘We can achieve sustainability -- but not without limiting economic growth’, in The Conversation  Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Articles 2016
‘Why would the world accept Australia's offer to store nuclear waste?’, in The Conversation  Mark Diesendorf Technology Assessments Articles 2016
'100% Renewable Electricity for South Australia’, Conservation Council of South Australia, Adelaide Diesendorf, M. Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general Reports and Working Papers 2015
'Accidents, wastes and weapons: nuclear power isn't worth the risks’, The Conversation Mark Diesendorf Technology Assessments Articles 2015
'Coal closures give South Australia the chance to go 100% renewable’, The Conversation Mark Diesendorf Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general Articles 2015
'Nuclear energy is dirty, unsafe and uneconomic: environmental scientist’, New Matilda Mark Diesendorf Technology Assessments Articles 2015
'Say good-bye to coal power in Australia’, Canberra Times Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general, Technology Assessments Articles 2015
'Strengthening the climate action movement: strategies from histories', Carbon Management 5(4) p397-409 Delina, L., Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2015
'Comparing least cost scenarios for 100% renewable electricity with low emission fossil fuel scenarios in the Australian National Electricity Market', Renewable Energy, 66, p196-204. Elliston, B., MacGill, I., Diesendorf, M. Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy Journal Papers 2014
'Corporate efforts to impede renewable energy', in Chain Reaction Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Articles 2014
'Get fact: testing Ian Plimer on wind and solar power', in Crikey  Mark Diesendorf Technology Assessments Articles 2014
'Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change. UNSW Press, Sydney and (from April 2014) Routledge-Earthscan, London' Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general Books 2014
'Impacts on the biophysical economy and environment of a transition to 100% renewable electricity in Australia', Energy Policy, 54:288-299, Turner, G.M., Elliston, B., Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2013
'Submission on 100 percent Renewables Study – Draft Modelling Outcomes Report' Jenny Riesz , Ben Elliston , Iain MacGill , Mark Diesendorf Large-scale Renewable Energy Submissions 2013
Comment on 'Prevented mortality and greenhouse gas emissions from historical and projected nuclear power'. Environmental Science & Technology 47:6715-6717. Sovacool, B.K., Parenteau, P., Ramana, M.V., Valentine, S.V., Jacobson, M.Z., Delucchi, M.A., Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general, Technology Assessments Journal Papers 2013
‘A genuine “green” economy must be ecologically sustainable and socially just’. In: Schroeder, S. & Chester, L, (eds) Challenging the Orthodoxy: Reflections on Frank Stilwell’s contribution to political economy. Springer, pp. 223-241 Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general Book Chapters 2013
‘Dispelling the myth of energy payback of renewable energy systems’, in RenewEconomy Mark Diesendorf Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation, Large-scale Renewable Energy, Technology Assessments Articles 2013
‘Does coal-fired electricity have a future?’, in The Conversation Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general, Technology Assessments Articles 2013
‘Is wartime mobilisation a suitable policy model for rapid national climate mitigation?’ Energy Policy, 58, p371-380 DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.03.036, Delina, L., Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2013
‘Least cost 100% renewable electricity scenarios in the Australian National Electricity Market’, Energy Policy 59, p270-282 DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.03.038, Elliston, B., MacGill, I., Diesendorf, M. Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy Journal Papers 2013
‘The base debate holding renewables hostage’, in Climate Spectator Mark Diesendorf Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation, Large-scale Renewable Energy, Technology Assessments Articles 2013
'Can energy security and effective climate change policies be compatible?’, In L Anceschi & J Symons (eds) Energy Security in the Era of Climate change: The Asia-Pacific experience. Palgrave Macmillan, p72-87 Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general Book Chapters 2012
'Lost energy policies, opportunities and practice’, In KJ Walker and K Crowley (eds) Environmental Policy Failure: The Australian Story. Tilde University Press, p44-58 Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general Book Chapters 2012
'Reliability of 100% Electricity Supply in the Australian National Electricity Market', at the 2nd International 100% Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition (IRENRC 2012), 28-10 June 2012  Elliston, B., Diesendorf, M., MacGill, I.F. Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy Conference Papers 2012
'Simulations of scenarios with 100% renewable electricity in the Australian National Electricity Market', Energy Policy 45, p. 606-613 Elliston, B., Diesendorf, M., MacGill, I.F. Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy Journal Papers 2012
'The economics of nuclear energy’, In RM Basrur & C Koh  (eds) Nuclear Power and Energy Security in Asia. Taylor & Francis, p50-70. Diesendorf, M. Technology Assessments Book Chapters 2012
'Climate change and the economy', in George Argyrous and Frank Stilwell (eds) Readings in Political Economy. 3rd edition, Melbourne: Tilde University Press, pp.15-18. Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general Book Chapters 2011
'Demystification of nuclear energy', in D!ssent  Mark Diesendorf Technology Assessments Articles 2011
'Simulations of Scenarios with 100% Renewable Electricity in the National Electricity Market', at the Australian Solar Energy Society Conference, Sydney, 1 Dec 2011 (Jointly awarded the Wal Read Memorial Prize for Best Student Paper) Elliston, B., Diesendorf, M., MacGill, I. Large-scale Renewable Energy Conference Papers 2011

Monbiot clutches at straws, New Matilda, 23 March,

Mark Diesendorf Technology Assessments Articles 2011
Redesigning energy systems, in John S. Dryzek, Richard B. Norgaard & David Schlosberg (eds)Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. Oxford University Press, pp.561-578. Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general Book Chapters 2011

Comparing the Economics of Nuclear and Renewable Sources of Electricity, 48th ANZSES Conference, Canberra, 1 to 3 Dec 2010

Diesendorf, M. Technology Assessments Conference Papers 2010
Design limitations in Australian renewable energy policies, Energy Policy, 38: 3365-76; addendum 38:7539-40. Buckman, G., Diesendorf, M. Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2010

Grid parity: A potentially misleading concept?, 48th ANZSES Conference, Canberra, 1 to 3 Dec 2010

Elliston, B., MacGill, I., Diesendorf, M. Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation Conference Papers 2010
Sustainable Energy Policy for Australia", Energy Science briefing paper no. 5 Diesendorf, M. Sustainability & general Articles 2010
The Base-Load Fallacy, Energy Science briefing paper no. 16 Diesendorf, M. Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general Articles 2010
Climate Action: A campaign manual for greenhouse solutions, UNSW Press, Sydney. xiv+242 pp Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Books 2009

Potential sites for off-shore wind power in Australia, Wind Engineering 33(4): 335-348

Messali, E., Diesendorf, M. Large-scale Renewable Energy Journal Papers 2009
Sustainability of uranium mining and milling: toward quantifying resources and eco-efficiency,Environmental Science & Technology. 42(7), 2624-2630. Gavin Mudd, Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Journal Papers 2008

Clean energy scenarios for Australia, Energy Policy 35 (2), pp. 1245-1256

Hugh Saddler, Mark Diesendorf, Richard Denniss Large-scale Renewable Energy Journal Papers 2007

Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy, A submission to Garnaut Climate Change Review, 3rd December 2007

Mark Diesendorf Emissions trading Submissions 2007
Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy, UNSW Press Sydney ISBN 978 086840 973.3 Mark Diesendorf Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general Books 2007

Is nuclear energy a possible solution to global warming?, Social Alternatives 26 (2), pp. 8-11

Mark Diesendorf Technology Assessments Journal Papers 2007
Paths to a Low-Carbon Future: Reducing Australia's Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 , scenario study published by Greenpeace Mark Diesendorf Sustainability & general Reports and Working Papers 2007

Renewable energy as a major component of greenhouse response: refutation of the base-load fallacy presented at the ANZSEE 2007 conference, Noosa QLD, 3rd-6th July 2007

Mark Diesendorf Large-scale Renewable Energy Conference Papers 2007

Can geosequestration save the coal industry?, in J. Byrne, Leigh Glover and Noah Toly (eds), Transforming Power: Energy as a Social Project, Vol. 9, Energy and Environmental Policy Series, pp.223-248

Mark Diesendorf Technology Assessments Book Chapters 2006
A Clean Energy Future for Australia, a study by Energy Strategies for the Clean Energy Future Group, March 2004 Hugh Saddler, Mark Diesendorf, Richard Denniss Sustainability & general Reports and Working Papers 2004

Events

Eventsort descending Presenter Type Research area Location Date
A Genuine ‘Green’ Economy must be Ecologically Sustainable and Socially Just Mark Diesendorf Seminar Sustainability & general Conference in Honour of Frank Stilwell's Contribution to Australian Political Economy, University of Sydney, 3-5 April 2013 Friday, April 5, 2013
Busting myths about renewable energy Mark Diesendorf Seminar Electricity Markets & Restructuring UNSW TETB Thursday, September 13, 2018
Comparing the Economics of Nuclear and Renewable Sources of Electricity Mark Diesendorf Seminar Technology Assessments AuSES 2010 Conference, Canberra, Australia Friday, December 3, 2010
Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy Mark Diesendorf Seminar Large-scale Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation CEEM, UNSW Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Refuting Fallacies about Wind Power Mark Diesendorf Seminar Large-scale Renewable Energy Public forum on wind power, Cooma, NSW Friday, August 25, 2006
Scenarios for Australian Clean Energy Futures: Can Renewable Energy Substitute for Coal Power? Mark Diesendorf Seminar Large-scale Renewable Energy CEEM, UNSW Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Technical and Economic Feasibility of 100% renewable energy: the Australian National Electricity Market Iain MacGill , Ben Elliston, Mark Diesendorf Seminar Large-scale Renewable Energy IES Rapid Climate Mitigation Workshop, UNSW Monday, November 19, 2012
Technical, economic + commercial opportunities and challenges of a 100% renewably powered Australian National Electricity Market Iain MacGill , Ben Elliston, Mark Diesendorf Seminar Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation, Large-scale Renewable Energy Australian All-Energy Conference, Melbourne Convention Centre Thursday, October 11, 2012
The Social Movement for Climate Action in Australia Mark Diesendorf , The Institute of Environmental Studies Seminar Sustainability & general CEEM Sustainable Energy Discussion Group, UNSW Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Technological Feasibility and Economics of 100% Renewable Electricity for Australia Mark Diesendorf Seminar Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general Various Tuesday, October 2, 2012