Mark Diesendorf
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.

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 | Link | 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 | link | 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 | link | 2022 |
'Funding of the energy transition by monetary sovereign countries', Energies, 15 | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | Journal Papers | link | 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 | link | 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 | link | 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 | link | 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 | link | 2022 |
'We must reduce global energy consumption to reach net zero emissions by 2050', illumen | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | link | 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 | link | 2022 |
'Peter Garrett gives Labor a free pass on climate action', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | link | 2021 |
'The politics of reaching net zero', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | link | 2021 |
'Too expensive, too slow: even the baseload argument doesn't work for nuclear', RenewEconomy |
Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Articles | link | 2021 |
'A government program to lock-in fossil fuels', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Sustainability & general | Articles | link | 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 | link | 2020 |
'COVID-19 and economic recovery with effective climate mitigation', Global Sustainability, 3. | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Sustainability & general | Journal Papers | link, pdf | 2020 |
'Economic recovery from Covid-19 while mitigating climate change', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | link | 2020 |
'Five reasons why Michael Moore's Planet of the Humans is a bad mistake', RenewEconomy | Mark Diesendorf | Large-scale Renewable Energy | Media | link | 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 | link | 2020 |
'It’s time for a serious consideration of a job guarantee', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | link | 2020 |
'Lessons from Covid-19: Strategic Planning for other Major Risks', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Sustainability & general | Articles | link | 2020 |
'The last chance to stabilise Earth's climate', Pearls & Irritations | Mark Diesendorf | Emissions trading, Large-scale Renewable Energy | Articles | link | 2020 |
'The time has come for regulations that drive net zero homes', The Fifth Estate | Mark Diesendorf | Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation | Articles | link | 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 | link | 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 | link | 2019 |
'Busting myths about renewable energy', Renew Magazine, issue 146 | Mark Diesendorf | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Articles | link | 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 | link | 2019 |
'New grid needs cooperation', Canberra Times | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy | Articles | link | 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 | link | 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 | link | 2018 |
'Four key steps to take Australia towards 100% renewable electricity', RenewEconomy | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring, Large-scale Renewable Energy | Articles | link | 2018 |
'How rapidly can we transition to 100% renewable electricity?' in RenewEconomy | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | Articles | link | 2018 |
'Is coal power "dispatchable"?', RenewEconomy | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | Articles | link | 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 | link | 2018 |
'Renewable electricity policy for Australia', The Australia Institute | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | Reports and Working Papers | link | 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 | link | 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 | link | 2018 |
‘Renewable energy breeding’ can stop Australia blowing the carbon budget – if we’re quick', in The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | Articles | link | 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 | link | 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 | link | 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 | link, link | 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 | link | 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 | link | 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 | preprint, supporting information | 2016 |
‘We can achieve sustainability -- but not without limiting economic growth’, in The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general | Articles | link | 2016 |
‘Why would the world accept Australia's offer to store nuclear waste?’, in The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Articles | link | 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 | link | 2015 |
'Accidents, wastes and weapons: nuclear power isn't worth the risks’, The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Articles | link | 2015 |
'Coal closures give South Australia the chance to go 100% renewable’, The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Articles | link | 2015 |
'Nuclear energy is dirty, unsafe and uneconomic: environmental scientist’, New Matilda | Mark Diesendorf | Technology Assessments | Articles | link | 2015 |
'Say good-bye to coal power in Australia’, Canberra Times | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general, Technology Assessments | Articles | link | 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 | pdf [preprint], [journal link] | 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 | link | 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 | link | 2013 |
‘Does coal-fired electricity have a future?’, in The Conversation | Mark Diesendorf | Sustainability & general, Technology Assessments | Articles | link | 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 | preprint | 2013 |
‘The base debate holding renewables hostage’, in Climate Spectator | Mark Diesendorf | Energy Efficiency & Distributed Generation, Large-scale Renewable Energy, Technology Assessments | Articles | link | 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 | link | 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 | link | 2010 |
The Base-Load Fallacy, Energy Science briefing paper no. 16 | Diesendorf, M. | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Articles | link | 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
Event | Presenter | Type | Research area | Location | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Busting myths about renewable energy | Mark Diesendorf | Seminar | Electricity Markets & Restructuring | UNSW TETB | Thursday, September 13, 2018 |
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 |
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 Technological Feasibility and Economics of 100% Renewable Electricity for Australia | Mark Diesendorf | Seminar | Large-scale Renewable Energy, Sustainability & general | Various | Tuesday, October 2, 2012 |
Comparing the Economics of Nuclear and Renewable Sources of Electricity | Mark Diesendorf | Seminar | Technology Assessments | AuSES 2010 Conference, Canberra, Australia | Friday, December 3, 2010 |
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 |
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 |