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The Energy Trap

Richard Lyon

Book cover: The Energy Trap

In this short, sharp book, Richard Lyon – electrical engineer, petroleum engineer and energy economist – strips the energy debate back to the physics. What he finds is alarming: the fossil fuels are running out, the proposed replacements can’t do the job and the people in charge don’t understand the science well enough to realise.

But this is not a counsel of despair. There is a way through – if we stop wasting what remains on systems that can’t work and start building the one that can.

Hardback

ISBN: 9781800757356

Published: September 24, 2026

Ebook

ISBN: 9781800757363

Published: September 24, 2026

Book cover: The Energy Trap

Category:
Non-fiction

Author

Richard Lyon

Author image not available for Richard Lyon

Richard Lyon is an electrical engineer, petroleum engineer and energy economist. He began his career as a pilot in the Royal Air Force before spending over twenty-five years in the oil and gas industry, holding senior operational and commercial roles in the UK, Norway, Azerbaijan, Congo and Cameroon. He holds a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, an MEng in Petroleum Engineering, and an MSc in Energy Economics. His master’s research focused on quantifying the degree of optimism in institutional estimates of remaining oil reserves.

The Energy Trap grew from a conviction, formed over three decades of producing, managing and studying energy, that the gap between energy policy and physical reality has become dangerous – and that the public are perfectly able to acquire and apply the knowledge needed to challenge the policies being made in their name.

Author image not available for Richard Lyon