{"title":"‘Fixing’ coal in Whitehaven: the affective promises of a coalmine","authors":"Andrew Telford, Ed Atkins","doi":"10.1111/geoj.12576","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>This commentary explores the promises surrounding the construction of a new coalmine in Whitehaven in the UK. The impacts of the closure of carbon-heavy coal facilities increasingly feature in scholarship and policy understandings of energy transitions: illuminating the importance of the temporalities of transition. We seek to further such temporal understandings to highlight the importance of ‘futures’ in discussions of coal, which despite promises of abatement maintains a significant presence in global energy relations. We explore how the Woodhouse Colliery at Whitehaven has come to represent a series of fixes—in both socio-ecological and affective terms: promising new futures of work, energy and regional development. These futures are contested by opponents of the project, who highlight the emissions to be associated with the site. In tracing these competing futures, we illuminate the intricate ties between historic industry, present-day regional identity and economies, and the role and presence of carbon in visions of what comes next.</p>","PeriodicalId":48023,"journal":{"name":"Geographical Journal","volume":"190 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/geoj.12576","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Geographical Journal","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geoj.12576","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GEOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This commentary explores the promises surrounding the construction of a new coalmine in Whitehaven in the UK. The impacts of the closure of carbon-heavy coal facilities increasingly feature in scholarship and policy understandings of energy transitions: illuminating the importance of the temporalities of transition. We seek to further such temporal understandings to highlight the importance of ‘futures’ in discussions of coal, which despite promises of abatement maintains a significant presence in global energy relations. We explore how the Woodhouse Colliery at Whitehaven has come to represent a series of fixes—in both socio-ecological and affective terms: promising new futures of work, energy and regional development. These futures are contested by opponents of the project, who highlight the emissions to be associated with the site. In tracing these competing futures, we illuminate the intricate ties between historic industry, present-day regional identity and economies, and the role and presence of carbon in visions of what comes next.
期刊介绍:
The Geographical Journal has been the academic journal of the Royal Geographical Society, under the terms of the Royal Charter, since 1893. It publishes papers from across the entire subject of geography, with particular reference to public debates, policy-orientated agendas.