Foreword

In the second decade of this century, we are on the edge of a revolution in which all aspects of our existence will be reconceived and reformed. What will probably become known as the Carbonaceous era of human history is coming to an end – roughly two centuries of development based on mining millions of years' worth of long-dead animals and plants, the fossils we turned into fuels. The legacy of that carbonaceous power can be found embedded in our material world, in its physical infrastructure, and in the products, services, and systems that underpin our economies and provide for our lifestyles. But fossil fuels are a finite resource, and the demand for oil is already exhausting the easily available supply with growing economic and geopolitical repercussions. All that previously locked-up carbon we have released into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution is heating the biosphere and changing our climate, threatening all aspects of human life that are dependent on suitable climatic conditions.

The consequences of continuing with a carbon-based economy are unthinkable, but centuries of dependence are clearly not easy to overcome. Established systems of power have disrupted progress on global action over many decades, in spite of increasingly urgent projections from climate science. Until the turn of the twenty-first century, the consensus was that we needed action to keep the rise in global temperature below 2.0̊C (compared to pre–Industrial Revolution levels). But by 2011 the International Energy Agency, in its World Energy Outlook, was warning that “radical” policy changes for a transition to a clean-energy future are required before 2015 to avoid global temperature rises of 3.5̊C or higher. Nevertheless the world economy is beginning to shift rapidly in unexpected ways; in that same year, more than 50% of total global investment in renewable energy took place in China.

The work presented in this handbook is from one of the leading centers in the world on design and innovation for sustainability. It is an essential guide for those designers, engineers, architects, and businesses that understand the importance – and are attracted by the challenge – of building the post-carbon future now. Whilst the range of sustainable energy technologies is generally well known, the design exploration of their contributions to the emerging future has been slow, compared to the momentum of “normal” product development. As the work in this book demonstrates, this situation is changing, but it is not simple; it requires much more innovative and creative investment than simply taking existing goods and services and replacing fossil energy inputs with renewable ones. The systems of resource, product, and service provision that are essential for our social existence are fossil fuel dependent, and the relatively low cost of energy compared to labor and land has left us with an energy-intensive, grossly energy-wasteful existence. Creativity and innovation must be directed to designing new products, systems, and user behaviors and lifestyles that treat energy as a precious resource and energy efficiency as an unquestioned goal. That means changes to design and innovation processes, and the authors of this book talk with real authority about the challenges and changes necessary to integrate sustainable energy technologies into product innovation.

At the core of much of the global conflict over action on climate change are the reality of global inequalities and the absolute necessity to define a trajectory for a post-carbon future that is also compatible with the millennium goals, offering a clear path for poverty alleviation and equitable development. That is an immediate economic challenge for the West (for the beneficiaries of carbonaceous development), but it adds another dimension to the challenges for innovation and design that is expertly canvassed in this book.

The Power of Design should have wide appeal. In the context of global doubt about the possibility of changing direction and breaking our long addiction to fossil fuels, the practice, concepts, and case studies presented by the authors are glimpses of an alternative future that is both achievable and desirable. I am reminded of a comment attributed to William Gibson: The future is already out there, it just isn't evenly distributed. This work is a much-needed contribution to redistributing the future – whilst we still have time.

Professor Chris Ryan
Director Eco-Innovation Lab
University of Melbourne
Australia