Not your grandpa's energy system? Fossil fuel inheritances in the decarbonization of industrial geographies

IF 7.4 2区经济学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Energy Research & Social Science Pub Date : 2025-07-29 DOI:10.1016/j.erss.2025.104238

Abby Kinchy , Jessica Lehman

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Abstract

This paper develops the concept of fossil fuel inheritances to understand the politics of emerging energy systems. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is frequently touted as necessary for achieving industrial decarbonization targets, yet it may also extend the dominance of fossil fuel industries. This paper argues that another dimension of this debate demands attention: the many ways that carbon capture inherits the legacies of previous fossil fuel eras. This paper approaches CCS as a technological system that is coming into being in particular places and times. Drawing on examples from Pennsylvania (US) and Teesside (UK) we explore how material, discursive, institutional, and epistemic inheritances from earlier fossil fuel eras shape emerging CCS formations. Both are places that have long hosted fossil fuel industries and are now positioned at the lead of CCS development. We argue that the concept of fossil fuel inheritances provides a multidimensional perspective on the process of change and suggests new narratives and entry points for more just and sustainable energy futures.

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不是你爷爷的能源系统吗？工业地区脱碳中的化石燃料遗产

本文发展了化石燃料继承的概念，以理解新兴能源系统的政治。碳捕获与封存（CCS）经常被吹捧为实现工业脱碳目标的必要手段，但它也可能扩大化石燃料行业的主导地位。本文认为，这场辩论的另一个方面需要引起注意：碳捕获在许多方面继承了以前化石燃料时代的遗产。本文将CCS看作是在特定的地点和时代形成的一种技术体系。以宾夕法尼亚州（美国）和提赛德（英国）为例，我们探讨了早期化石燃料时代的物质、话语、制度和认知遗产如何塑造新兴的CCS结构。这两个地方都是长期拥有化石燃料工业的地方，现在处于CCS发展的领先地位。我们认为，化石燃料遗产的概念为变化过程提供了一个多维视角，并为更公正和可持续的能源未来提供了新的叙述和切入点。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Energy Research & Social Science ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES-

CiteScore

14.00

自引率

16.40%

发文量

441

审稿时长

55 days

期刊介绍： Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) is a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes original research and review articles examining the relationship between energy systems and society. ERSS covers a range of topics revolving around the intersection of energy technologies, fuels, and resources on one side and social processes and influences - including communities of energy users, people affected by energy production, social institutions, customs, traditions, behaviors, and policies - on the other. Put another way, ERSS investigates the social system surrounding energy technology and hardware. ERSS is relevant for energy practitioners, researchers interested in the social aspects of energy production or use, and policymakers. Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) provides an interdisciplinary forum to discuss how social and technical issues related to energy production and consumption interact. Energy production, distribution, and consumption all have both technical and human components, and the latter involves the human causes and consequences of energy-related activities and processes as well as social structures that shape how people interact with energy systems. Energy analysis, therefore, needs to look beyond the dimensions of technology and economics to include these social and human elements.