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- About
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- Email Address
- david.toke@abdn.ac.uk
- School/Department
- School of Social Science
Biography
David Toke was a late starter in academia. Previously he worked in journalism and school teaching. He studied for a Ph.D. at the Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS) at Birmingham University before becoming a Research Fellow and then Senior Lecturer there. He joined the University of Aberdeen in 2013 as Reader.
He has had over 50 papers published in refereed journals as well as six monograph books (all but one single-authored). His latest book, (with other co-authors) is entitled 'Nuclear Power in Stagnation: A Cultural Approach to Failed Expansion'. He has had over 3100 citations according to 'ResearchGate'. He has engaged in many research programmes funded by the ESRC (5), the EU (2), the Leverhulme Trust (2) the British Academy, and Scottish Insight.
He is now Principal Investigator for the ESRC-funded project 'Solar Power in the UK –Planning for a Sustainable Future'. This runs for two and a half years. See https://www.abdn.ac.uk/socsci/research/solar-planning/
He has also published three public interest books on energy policy. He has written many influential reports for different NGOs. His work, including a report published by the World Future Council, proved to be a prime early influence (in 2007-2008) leading to the adoption of a system of feed-in tariffs for smaller renewable energy projects in the UK. He also has produced reports published by Friends of the Earth, The Green Parties of England and Wales and Scotland and has written a number of articles for newspapers and magazines ranging from The Guardian to Energy Economist.
His 'green energy blog' has been highly regarded since 2010, see https://davidtoke.substack.com/. He has led the formation of 100percentrenewableuk, see https://100percentrenewableuk.org/. His new public interest book is 'Energy Revolutions - profiteering versus democracy' (Pluto Press) - see https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745349268/energy-revolutions/
Qualifications
- PhD Political Science2001 - University of Birmingham
The thesis was entitled 'The Politics of Sustainable Energy'
- Research
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Research Overview
- Planning and financing of renewable energy
- Energy Policy, various aspects of renewable energy and energy efficiency policy, nuclear power and particularly onshore and offshore wind power focusing on planning issues and financial support mechanisms
- Environmental policy, focusing on decision making and governance issues, including ecological modernisation theory
- Particular theories of governance including policy network theory, usage of discourse, rational choice and interest group theory
- Food and countryside issues, especially foxhunting and The Countryside Alliance
Current Research
My main area of academic research is to organise, as Principal Investigator, the ESRC funded project 'Solar Power in the UK - Planning for a Sustainable Future'. This began on June 1st 2023 and runs for two and a half years. The focus is on explaining how outcomes of planning applications occur with an emphasis on looking at how outcomes of debates about the applications occur. There are three other co-investigators, Jo Vergunst, Kathrin Thomas and Paula Duffy, and two Research Fellows, Constanza Concetti and Mohsin Hussain.
I am researching for a book entitled 'Energy Revolutions - profiteering versus democracy' which will be published by Pluto Press
I am also research the politics and policy of 100 per cent renewable energy systems
Collaborations
there were His most recent collaborations are:
a) He worked with academics form various universities to produce a Special Issue of the journal 'Environmental Politics' on the subject of the interaction of climate change and energy security. He has co-edited this Special Issue with Sevasti-Eleni Vezirgiannidou of the University of Birmingham. The Special Issue appeared in the July edition of 'Environmental Politics', and includes two papers where he is an author. See http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/fenp20/22/4#.UuzoktGPO1s
b) As mentioned earlier (see biography), he has also been collaborating with academics from Cardiff University, Queens University Belfast and Robert Gordon University on the ESRC funded project 'Delivering Renewable Energy Under Devolution' (DREUD). He is the lead author of the first output published in a journal, in the Political Quarterly. This is about renewable energy and the Scottish independence debate. See http://realfeed-intariffs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/scottish-renewable-energy-targets-may.html This paper received considerable press attention. However, after this significant developments occurred in the UK energy policies, especially decisions taken by the UK Government concerning Electricity Market Reform, and this prompted a re-think of these conclusions. This re-think can be seen at http://issuu.com/therobertgordonuniversity/docs/the_dreud_report_2013
c) As mentioned above he is collaborating with political scientists from Oregon State Univeristy in the USA to research the politics of advocacy of solar power.
Funding and Grants
- Solar Power in the UK –Planning for a Sustainable Future - Principal Investigator of project funded by ESRC which began on June 1st 2023 and runs for two and a half years
- COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN A JUST TRANSITION TO NET ZERO IN THE NORTH-EAST OF SCOTLAND - co-investigator of project funded by Scottish Universities Insight Institute which ran from 2021-2022
- Leverhulme Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Production of Chemicals and Materials - co-investigator of project funded by Leverhulme Trust based at the University of Aberdeen Department of Chemical Engineering, 2018-2022
- Delivering Renewable Energy Under Devolution (co-investigator in project funded by ESRC which began in January 2011 and which finished at the end of January 2013)
- SEANERGY 2020- investigating and disseminating best practice in marine spatial planning for offshore renewables (partner in 2 year ALTENER project funded by the EU which started in May 2010)
- Offshore wind power planning issues (funded by ASSC small grant from University of Bimringham - 2009)
- EU Renewable Directive (funded privately by commission from World Future Council- 2007-2008)
- Feed in Tariffs and UK energy strategy (funded privately by commission form World Future Council - 2007)
- The use of combined heat and power as a means of integrating high levels of fluctuating renewable energy sources into the electricity grid (funded through DESIRE EU FP6 programme, 2005-2007)
- The Politics of the Countryside Alliance (funded through ESRC, 2005)
- The Politics of Food and Farming (funded through Leverhulme Trust, 2004)
- Accounting for the Outcome of Windfarm Planning Applications (funded through ESRC, 2002-2005)
- A comparison of GM food policies in EU and US (funded through British Academy, 2003)
- The Politics of GM Food (funded through ESRC, 2001-2002)
- Publications
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Page 1 of 1 Results 1 to 73 of 73
Energy Revolutions: Profiteering versus Democracy
Pluto Press, London. 202 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksWhen safety is relative: Ecological Modernisation theory and the nuclear safety regulatory regimes of France, the United Kingdom and United States
Energy Research & Social Science, vol. 86, 102447Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIn a rush to replace Russian gas, the EU has damaged its own climate change strategy
Contributions to Specialist PublicationsNuclear Power in Stagnation: A Cultural Approach to Failed Expansion
Routledge, Abingdon. 188 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksNow that UK nuclear power plans are in tatters, it’s vital to double down on wind and solar
The ConversationContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesLow Carbon Politics: A Cultural Approach Focusing on Low Carbon Electricity
Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon. 173 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315523378
The unholy alliance that explains why renewable energy is trouncing nuclear
The ConversationContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesCommunity renewables in the UK - a clash of cultures?
International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 99-120Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTIP.2018.094408
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Sub-national government and pathways to sustainable energy
Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, vol. 35, no. 7, pp. 1139-1155Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2399654417730359
China’s role in reducing carbon emissions: The stabilisation of energy consumption and the deployment of renewable energy
Taylor and Francis. 168 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315276946
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Energy transitions, sub-national government and regime flexibility: how has devolution in the United Kingdom affected renewable energy development?
Energy Research & Social Science, vol. 23, pp. 169-181Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2016.10.006
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/9546/1/ERSS_D_2nd_version.pdf
Rescaling the Governance of Renewable Energy: Lessons from the UK Devolution Experience
Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 480-502Contributions to Journals: ArticlesElectricity Market Reform: So what's new?
Policy & Politics, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 445-461Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPolicy Consultation and Political Styles: Renewable energy consultations in the UK and Denmark
British Politics, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 454-474Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2015.38
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/7800/4/Toke_Renewable_Energy_AAM.pdf
Renewable Energy Auctions and Tenders: How good are they?
International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, vol. 8, pp. 43-56Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIf the Hinkley C nuclear deal looks astonishing, that’s because it is
The ConversationContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesThe only way to meet green energy targets is to hand some power back to Scotland
The ConversationContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesPromoting community renewable energy in a corporate energy world
Sustainable Development, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 96-109Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1576
Europe’s electricity regime: Restoration or thorough transition
International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, vol. 5, pp. 57-68Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.5278/ijsepm.2015.5.6
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Scotland benefits by paying for its energy, not UK’s mistakes
The ConversationContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesClimate change and the nuclear securitisation of UK energy policy
Environmental Politics, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 553-570Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2013.806630
The relationship between climate change and energy security: key issues and conclusions
Environmental Politics, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 537-552Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2013.806631
Planning, energy and devolution in the UK
Town Planning Review, vol. 84, no. 3, pp. 397-409Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.2013.16
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Scotland, Renewable Energy and the Independence Debate: Will Head or Heart Rule the Roost?
Political Quarterly, vol. 84, no. 1-3, pp. 61-70Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-923X.2013.02431.x
The Politics of a Multi-level Citizenship: French Republicanism, Roma Mobility and the EU
Global Society, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 360-378Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13600826.2013.790785
UK Electricity Market Reform - revolution or much ado about nothing?
Energy Policy, vol. 39, no. 12, pp. 7609-7611Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.08.061
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/2766/1/Viewpoint.doc
Ecological Modernisation and Renewable Energy
Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. 202 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksThe UK offshore wind power programme: A sea-change in UK energy policy?
Energy Policy, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 526-534Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEcological modernisation, social movements and renewable energy
Environmental Politics, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 60-77Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2011.538166
Politics by heuristics: Policy networks with a focus on actor resources, as illustrated by the case of renewable energy policy under New Labour
Public Administration, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 764-781Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2010.01839.x
Exploring the landscape of wind farm developments: local area characteristics and planning process outcomes in rural England
Land Use Policy, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 214-221Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.05.006
Foxhunting and the Conservatives
Political Quarterly, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 205-212Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-923X.2010.02087.x
Ecological modernisation as bureaucracy: organic food and its certification in the UK and India
International Journal of Green Economics, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 313-326Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGE.2010.037531
Assessing national patterns of wind ownership
Wind Power and Power Politics: International Perspectives. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 1-17, 17 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersAssessing the performance of the UK renewables obligation: Cinderella or an ugly sister?
Wind Power and Power Politics: International Perspectives. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 140-167, 28 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203886427-14/assessing-performance-uk-renewables-obligation-cinderella-ugly-sister-afolabi-otitoju-peter-strachan-david-toke?context=ubx&refId=99e8d027-c8ef-47b3-b0db-342f04fb313e
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203886427
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Wind power and power politics: International perspectives
Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 212 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203886427
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Policy Networks and the Distinction between Insider and Outsider Groups: The Case of the Countryside Alliance
Public Administration, vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 621-638Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2009.01765.x
EU renewable energy support policy: faith or facts?
Energy Policy, vol. 37, no. 6, pp. 2143-2146Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.02.043
Trading schemes, risks, and costs: the cases of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and the Renewables Obligation
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 938-953Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1068/c0728j
The EU Renewables Directive - What is the fuss about trading?
Energy Policy, vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 3001-3008Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2008.04.008
Wind power deployment outcomes: How can we account for the differences?
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 1129–1147Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2006.10.021
Do liberalised electricity markets help or hinder CHP and district heating? The case of the UK
Energy Policy, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 1448-1456Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2007.12.021
Comparing Market-Based Renewable Energy Regimes: The Cases of the UK and Japan
International Journal of Green Energy, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 409-425Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15435070701465748
Anglo-Saxon and German approaches to neo-liberalism and environmental policy: the case of financing renewable energy
Geoforum, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 677-687Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2006.11.016
Risk, genetically modified food and the US/EU divide
International Journal of Green Economics, vol. 1, no. 3/4, pp. 407-418Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGE.2007.013069
Demand reduction in the UK - with a focus on the non-domestic sector
Energy Policy, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 2131-2140Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2006.07.003
Renewable financial support systems and cost-effectiveness
Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 280-287Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.02.005
Crossing the great divide - Using multi-method analysis to understand opposition to windfarms
Public Administration, vol. 84, no. 1, pp. 103-120Contributions to Journals: ArticlesWind Power and Ecological Modernisation
European Environment, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 155-166Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.417
Are green electricity certificates the way forward for renewable energy? An evaluation of the UK’s Renewables Obligation in the context of international comparisons
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 361-375Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1068/c0414j
Community Wind Power in Europe and in the UK
Wind Engineering, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 301-308Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1260/030952405774354886
Einspeisetarife und Quoten-/Zertifikatssyteme: Erwartungen Der Europaischen Kommission und Erfahrungen aus dem Vergleich Zwischen Grossbritannien und Deutschland
Zeitschrift für Neues Energierecht , vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 132-139Contributions to Journals: ArticlesExplaining wind power planning outcomes, some findings from a study in England and Wales
Energy Policy, vol. 33, no. 12, pp. 1527-1539Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2004.01.009
Farmers Stage a Comeback: But Have the Greens Sold Out?
Political Quarterly, vol. 76, no. 4, pp. 505-515Contributions to Journals: ArticlesWill the Government Catch the Wind?
Political Quarterly, vol. 76, no. 1, pp. 48-56Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA Comparative Study of the Politics of GM Foods and
Political Studies, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 179-186Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2004.00471.x
The Politics of GM Food
Routledge, London. 230 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksWind power in the UK: how planning conditions and financial arrangements affect outcomes
International Journal of Sustainable Energy, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 207-216Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01425910412331290733
Policy Networks and the GM Crops Issue: Assessing the Utility of the dialectical model of policy networks
Public Administration, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 229-251Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9299.00344
Ecological Modernisation and GM Food
Environmental Politics, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 145-163Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/714000632
Wind Power in UK and Denmark. Can rational choice theory help explain differences
Environmental Politics, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 83Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/714000647
Ecological Modernisation – A Reformist review
New Political Economy, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 279-291Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13563460120060652
GM Food: Relative Calm before the Storm?
Political Quarterly, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 67-75Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.00443
GM crops: Science, Policy and Environmentalists
Environmental Politics, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 115-120Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA Fresh Start for UK Wind Power?
International Journal of Ambient Energy, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 67-76Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01430750.2000.9675357
Green Politics and Neo-Liberalism
Macmillan Publishers, Houndmills, Basingstoke. 213 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230514157
Green Radicalism – sideshow or new alternative?
Political Quarterly, vol. 71, no. 4, pp. 443-450Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.00332
Policy Network Creation - The case of energy efficiency
Public Administration, vol. 78, no. 4, pp. 835-851Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9299.00233
Epistemic Communities and Environmental Groups
Politics, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 97-102Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe Politics of Green Energy
Environmental Politics, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 166-173Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPower and Environmental Pressure Groups
Talking Politics, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 107-115Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe Low Cost Planet: Energy and Environmental Problems, Solutions and Cost
Pluto Press, London. 216 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksGreen Energy: Non-nuclear Response to the Greenhouse Effect
Greenprint/Merlin Press. 136 pagesBooks and Reports: Books