The interaction between energy and society is characterized by a complex and multidimensional dynamic. The uneven development of energy production and consumption, vulnerability, and transformation processes, along with factors such as globalization, urbanization, international development, and social justice, all shape the changes in the energy system regarding resource, economic, infrastructural, and geopolitical landscapes. The study of energy geographies focuses on issues such as energy accessibility, energy security, and low-carbon transitions. It aims to reveal the critical impact of energy on social sustainable development and to explore the profound logic of the interaction between energy and society. Energy and Society: A Critical Perspective is a comprehensive work in the field of energy geography, encompassing three interrelated sections: energy, spaces, and flows; securities, vulnerabilities, and justice; and transitions, governance, and futures. This book emphasizes the social embeddedness of energy systems through a critical perspective, placing energy issues in a broad social and historical context. It explores how energy systems and social structures shape each other and includes numerous case studies, making it an important reference for academic research in energy geography and related policy studies. In the future, China's energy geography research can be strengthened in the following four areas: the multi-scalar nature of energy decision-making, the social and spatial diversity of consumption practices, the cross-border nature of China's energy economy, and the diversification of actors in the transition.
