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). See more here The following lists Mark's publications released through CEEM.
Mark Diesendorf
CRC for Low Carbon Living
E-mail
Publications
| Title & place of publication | Author | Research area | Type | Links | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation: Technological, Socioeconomic and Political Change. | Mark Diesendorf, Rod Taylor | Sustainability & general | Books | Palgrave Macmillan | |
| 'Comment on Seibert, M.K.; Rees, W.E. Through the Eye of a Needle: An Eco-Heterodox Perspective on the Renewable Energy Transition', Energies, 14 | Mark Diesendorf | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Energies, 14 | |
| '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 | Futures, 137 | |
| 'Scenarios for mitigating CO2 emissions from energy supply in the absence of CO2 removal', Climate Policy, 22 | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Emissions trading | Journal papers | Climate Policy, 22 | |
| 'We must reduce global energy consumption to reach net zero emissions by 2050', illumen | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | Illumen | |
| 'Funding of the energy transition by monetary sovereign countries', Energies, 15 | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | Journal papers | Energies, 15 | |
| 'Scenarios for the rapid phase-out of fossil fuels in Australia in the absence of CO2 removal', Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 29 | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | Journal papers | Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 29 | |
| '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 978-3-030-787 | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Book chapters | Williams SJ & Taylor R, Sustainability and the New Economics: Synthesising ecol… | |
| '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 | The Conversation | |
| '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 | The Conversation | |
| 'Peter Garrett gives Labor a free pass on climate action', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | Pearls & Irritations | |
| 'The politics of reaching net zero', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | Pearls & Irritations | |
| 'Too expensive, too slow: even the baseload argument doesn't work for nuclear', RenewEconomy | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Articles | RenewEconomy | |
| 'What is a fair carbon budget for Australia?', RenewEconomy | Mark Diesendorf, Dennys Angove | Emissions trading, Sustainability & general | Articles | RenewEconomy | |
| 'Lessons from Covid-19: Strategic Planning for other Major Risks', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Sustainability & general | Articles | Pearls & Irritations | |
| 'Five reasons why Michael Moore's Planet of the Humans is a bad mistake', RenewEconomy | Mark Diesendorf | Large-scale Renewable Energy | Articles | RenewEconomy | |
| 'The last chance to stabilise Earth's climate', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Emissions trading, Large-scale Renewable Energy | Articles | Pearls & Irritations | |
| 'The time has come for regulations that drive net zero homes', The Fifth Estate | Mark Diesendorf | Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation | Articles | The Fifth Estate | |
| 'A government program to lock-in fossil fuels', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Sustainability & general | Articles | Pearls & Irritations | |
| '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 | The Conversation | |
| Economic recovery from Covid-19 while mitigating climate change', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | Pearls & Irritations | |
| 'Implications of trends in energy return on energy invested (EROI) for transitioning to renewable electricity', Ecological Economics, 176 | Mark Diesendorf, Thomas Wiedmann | Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Ecological Economics, 176 | |
| 'COVID-19 and economic recovery with effective climate mitigation', Global Sustainability, 3. | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Global Sustainability, 3, Pre-Print | |
| '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 | Probst O, Castellanos S, Palacios R, Transforming the Grid towards Fully Renewa… | |
| It’s time for a serious consideration of a job guarantee', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | Pearls & Irritations | |
| '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 | The Conversation | |
| '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 | The Conversation | |
| 'Busting myths about renewable energy', Renew Magazine, issue 146 | Mark Diesendorf | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Media | Renew Magazine | |
| "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 | Newton P, Prasad D, Sproule A, White S, Decarbonising the Built Environment: Ch… | |
| 'New grid needs cooperation', Canberra Times | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy | Articles | Canberra Times | |
| 'Is coal power "dispatchable"?', RenewEconomy | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | Articles | RenewEconomy | |
| 'The feasibility of 100% renewable electricity systems: a response to critics', Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 93 | Mark Diesendorf, Ben Elliston | Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation | Journal papers | Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 93 | |
| 'Modeling the carbon budget of the Australian electricity industry's transition to renewable energy' Renewable Energy, 125 | Mark Diesendorf, Bahareh Sara Howard, Nicholas E. Hamilton, Thomas Wiedmann | Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation | Journal papers | Renewable Energy, 125 | |
| 'Who owns an energy transition? Strategic action fields and community wind energy in Denmark' Energy Research & Social Science, 35 | Mark Diesendorf, Franziska Mey | Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation | Journal papers | Denmark Energy Research & Social Science, 35 | |
| 'Critiquing the use of war to mobilise peaceful climate action: A response to Kester & Sovacool', Energy Policy, 112 | Mark Diesendorf, Laurence L. Delina | Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Energy Policy, 112 | |
| 'How rapidly can we transition to 100% renewable electricity?' in RenewEconomy | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | Articles | RenewEconomy | |
| ‘Renewable energy breeding’ can stop Australia blowing the carbon budget – if we’re quick', in The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | Articles | The Conversation | |
| 'Renewable electricity policy for Australia', The Australia Institute | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | Reports and Working Papers | The Australia Institute, PDF | |
| 'Four key steps to take Australia towards 100% renewable electricity', RenewEconomy | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy | Articles | RenewEconomy | |
| 'Distributed energy infrastructure paradigm: community microgrids in a new institutional economics context’, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 72 | Mark Diesendorf, Iain MacGill, Gui, M. | Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation | Journal papers | Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 72 | |
| '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 | Ben Elliston, Mark Diesendorf, Iain MacGill | Large-scale Renewable Energy | Book chapters | Towards 100% Renewable Energy, T Sidki Uyar, Springer, p.297-303 | |
| 'Can local government play a greater role for community renewable energy? A case study from Australia’, Energy Research & Social Science, 21 | Mark Diesendorf, Iain MacGill, Mey, F. | Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Energy Research & Social Science, 21 | |
| ‘Modeling the benefits of electric cooking in Bhutan: a long term perspective’, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 59 | Mark Diesendorf, Yangka, D. | Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 59 | |
| ‘We can achieve sustainability -- but not without limiting economic growth’, in The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | The Conversation | |
| ‘Why would the world accept Australia's offer to store nuclear waste?’The Conversation; | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Articles | The Conversation | |
| ‘Dispelling the nuclear 'baseload' myth: nothing renewables can't do better!’, in The Ecologist | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Articles | The Ecologist | |
| ‘Renewable energy versus nuclear: dispelling the myths’, in The Ecologist | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | RenewEconomy | |
| Rapid transition to clean energy will take massive social change’, in The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | The Conversation, RenewEconomy | |
| ‘Carbon footprint scenarios for renewable electricity in Australia’, Journal of Cleaner Production, 124 | Mark Diesendorf, Wolfram, P., Wiedmann, T. | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Journal of Cleaner Production, 124 | |
| ‘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 | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Journal papers | Energy Research & Social Science, 19 | |
| ‘Subjective judgments in the nuclear energy debate’, Conservation Biology, 30 | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Journal papers | Conservation Biology, 30 | |
| 'Strengthening the climate action movement: strategies from histories', Carbon Management, 5 | Mark Diesendorf, Delina, L. | Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Carbon Management, 5 | |
| '100% Renewable Electricity for South Australia’, Conservation Council of South Australia, Adelaide | Mark Diesendorf | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Reports and Working Papers | Conservation Council of South Australia, Adelaide, PDF | |
| 'Say good-bye to coal power in Australia’, Canberra Times | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general, Technology Assessments | Media | Canberra Times | |
| 'Coal closures give South Australia the chance to go 100% renewable’, The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Articles | The Conversation | |
| 'Accidents, wastes and weapons: nuclear power isn't worth the risks’, The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Articles | The Conversation | |
| 'Nuclear energy is dirty, unsafe and uneconomic: environmental scientist’, New Matilda | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Media | New Matilda | |
| 'Comparing least cost scenarios for 100% renewable electricity with low emission fossil fuel scenarios in the Australian National Electricity Market', Renewable Energy, 66 | Ben Elliston, Iain MacGill, Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy | Journal papers | Renewable Energy, 66, Pre-Print | |
| 'Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change. UNSW Press, Sydney and (from April 2014) Routledge-Earthscan, London' | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Books | UNSW Press, Routledge | |
| 'Corporate efforts to impede renewable energy', in Chain Reaction | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Media | Chain Reaction | |
| 'Get fact: testing Ian Plimer on wind and solar power', in Crikey | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Media | Crikey | |
| 'Impacts on the biophysical economy and environment of a transition to 100% renewable electricity in Australia', Energy Policy, 54 | Ben Elliston, Mark Diesendorf, Turner, G.M. | Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Energy Policy, 54 | |
| 'Submission on 100 percent Renewables Study – Draft Modelling Outcomes Report' | Jenny Riesz, Ben Elliston, Iain MacGill, Mark Diesendorf | Large-scale Renewable Energy | Submissions | ||
| ‘Least cost 100% renewable electricity scenarios in the Australian National Electricity Market’, Energy Policy, 59 | Ben Elliston, Iain MacGill, Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy | Journal papers | Energy Policy, 59 | |
| ‘Is wartime mobilisation a suitable policy model for rapid national climate mitigation?’ Energy Policy, 58 | Mark Diesendorf, Delina, L. | Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Energy Policy, 58 | |
| ‘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 | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Book chapters | Schroeder, S. & Chester, L, Challenging the Orthodoxy: Reflections on Frank Sti… | |
| Comment on 'Prevented mortality and greenhouse gas emissions from historical and projected nuclear power'. Environmental Science & Technology, 47 | Mark Diesendorf, Sovacool, B.K., Parenteau, P., Ramana, M.V., Valentine, S.V., Jacobson, M.Z., Delucchi, M.A. | Sustainability & general, Technology Assessments | Journal papers | Environmental Science & Technology, 47 | |
| ‘The base debate holding renewables hostage'; Climate Spectator | Mark Diesendorf | Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation, Large-scale Renewable Energy, Technology Assessments | Articles | Climate Spectator | |
| ‘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 | RenewEconomy | |
| ‘Does coal-fired electricity have a future?;The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general, Technology Assessments | Articles | The Conversation | |
| 'The economics of nuclear energy’, In RM Basrur & C Koh (eds) Nuclear Power and Energy Security in Asia. Taylor & Francis, p50-70. | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Book chapters | In RM Basrur & C Koh, Nuclear Power and Energy Security in Asia. Taylor & Franc… | |
| 'Lost energy policies, opportunities and practice’, In KJ Walker and K Crowley (eds) Environmental Policy Failure: The Australian Story. Tilde University Press, p44-58 | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Book chapters | KJ Walker and K Crowley, Environmental Policy Failure: The Australian Story. T… | |
| '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 | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Book chapters | L Anceschi & J Symons Energy Security in the Era of Climate change: The Asia-Pa… | |
| '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 | Ben Elliston, Mark Diesendorf, Iain MacGill | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy | Conference papers | International 100% Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition, PDF | |
| 'Simulations of scenarios with 100% renewable electricity in the Australian National Electricity Market', Energy Policy, 45 | Ben Elliston, Mark Diesendorf, Iain MacGill | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy | Journal papers | Energy Policy, 45, Pre-Print | |
| 'Demystification of nuclear energy', in D!ssent | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Articles | RG | |
| '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. | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Book chapters | George Argyrous and Frank Stilwell, Readings in Political Economy, Tilde Univer… | |
| Monbiot clutches at straws, New Matilda, 23 March, | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Articles | New Matilda | |
| '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) | Ben Elliston, Mark Diesendorf, Iain MacGill | Large-scale Renewable Energy | Conference papers | Australian Solar Energy Society Conference, PDF | |
| 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. | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Book chapters | John S. Dryzek, Richard B. Norgaard & David Schlosber, Oxford Handbook of Clima… | |
| Design limitations in Australian renewable energy policies, Energy Policy, 38 | Mark Diesendorf, Buckman, G. | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Energy Policy, 38 | |
| Comparing the Economics of Nuclear and Renewable Sources of Electricity, 48th ANZSES Conference, Canberra, 1 to 3 Dec 2010 | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Conference papers | ANZSES Conference, PDF | |
| Grid parity: A potentially misleading concept?, 48th ANZSES Conference, Canberra, 1 to 3 Dec 2010 | Ben Elliston, Iain MacGill, Mark Diesendorf | Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation | Conference papers | ANZSES Conference, PDF | |
| Sustainable Energy Policy for Australia", Energy Science briefing paper no. 5 | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | Energy Science | |
| The Base-Load Fallacy, Energy Science briefing paper no. 16 | Mark Diesendorf | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Articles | Energy Science | |
| 'Potential sites for off-shore wind power in Australia', Wind Engineering, 33 | Mark Diesendorf, Messali, E. | Large-scale Renewable Energy | Journal papers | Wind Engineering, 33 | |
| Climate Action: A campaign manual for greenhouse solutions, UNSW Press, Sydney. xiv+242 pp | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Books | UNSW Press | |
| 'Sustainability of uranium mining and milling: toward quantifying resources and eco-efficiency', Environmental Science & Technology, 42 | Mark Diesendorf, Gavin Mudd | Sustainability & general | Journal papers | Environmental Science & Technology, 42 | |
| 'Clean energy scenarios for Australia', Energy Policy, 35 | Mark Diesendorf, Hugh Saddler, Richard Denniss | Large-scale Renewable Energy | Journal papers | Energy Policy, 35 | |
| 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 | ANZSEE 2007 conference, PDF | |
| Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy, A submission to Garnaut Climate Change Review, 3rd December 2007 | Mark Diesendorf | Emissions trading | Submissions | ||
| Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy, UNSW Press Sydney ISBN 978 086840 973.3 | Mark Diesendorf | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Books | UNSW Press | |
| 'Is nuclear energy a possible solution to global warming?', Social Alternatives, 26 | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Journal papers | Social Alternatives, 26, Pre-Print | |
| 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 | Greenpeace, PDF | |
| 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 | J. Byrne, Leigh Glover and Noah Toly, Transforming Power: Energy as a Social Pr…, PDF | |
| A Clean Energy Future for Australia, a study by Energy Strategies for the Clean Energy Future Group, March 2004 | Mark Diesendorf, Hugh Saddler, Richard Denniss | Sustainability & general | Reports and Working Papers |