ABSTRACT
The main message of this edited volume is that energy systems are multidimensional and require simultaneous interventions at management, planning, and policy level. Given the complex nature of energy-related interactions, a one-dimensional approach to the analysis of energy systems is likely to miss opportunities for achieving long-term sustainable development objectives. With a focus on the link between energy and economic development and on the importance of transforming energy systems toward sustainability, this chapter discusses the need for integrating the analysis of energy systems (simplified here as the system for generation, transmission, and consumption of energy) with other economic and social policies and strategies for enabling a long-term energy transition. The imperative for integration emerges from four main reasons.
