The Politics of Decarbonization Pathways: Responses, Conflicts, and the Transition to a Low-Carbon Energy Future

Abstract

This thesis explores the politics of decarbonization pathways, with a particular focus on the responses to and conflicts surrounding the transition to a low-carbon energy future. As part of this, the dissertation: (1) scrutinizes how the concept of "pathways" is understood within climateenergy policy and analysis; and (2) attends to the struggles involved in pursuing potential pathways to carbon-neutral energy systems. Two overarching and interrelated research questions orient this work. First, how are pathways understood in the context of the low-carbon transition? And second, how are the socio-technical responses that help make up these pathways contested and shaped through politics? The introductory chapter of this thesis lays the groundwork for interrogating these questions, providing background on the subject of climate change, outlining the role of energy in this challenge, raising issues around the governance of low-carbon transitions, identifying research aims and questions, and discussing relevant research perspectives and approaches. Drawing on transition and discursive perspectives, chapters 2 through 4 then present three studies that take up Chapter 2-Pathways: an emerging concept for the theory and governance of low-carbon transitions

Decarbonization strategies in energy-intensive industries: Cases from Canada, USA, and Africa

“…The challenge lies in navigating established industrial infrastructures deeply reliant on fossil fuels in Canada and the United States. Decarbonization requires technological shifts and a careful balance to avoid disruptions to existing economic structures (Rosenbloom, 2019). In contrast, African nations face the delicate task of building sustainable industries from the ground up, with the added imperative of balancing economic growth with environmental stewardship.…”