Synthetic transitions : The political economy of fossil fuel as feedstock
Tilsted, Joachim Peter LU
and Newell, Peter
(2025)
In Review of International Political Economy
- Abstract
With simultaneous policy and scholarly attention to the pollution crisis and the climate crisis, there is growing recognition that the two are intimately interconnected through the demand for oil, gas, and coal generated by synthetic materials. Drawing on theoretical resources from international political economy and beyond, we show how petrochemicals sit at the intersection of a number of the primary drivers of the climate crisis, including fossil fuel production and industrial agriculture. The role of petrochemicals and their place in the global political economy of transitions, therefore, warrant greater empirical and critical conceptual scrutiny. Towards this end, we suggest conceptualizing and acting upon the recognition that oil,... (More)
With simultaneous policy and scholarly attention to the pollution crisis and the climate crisis, there is growing recognition that the two are intimately interconnected through the demand for oil, gas, and coal generated by synthetic materials. Drawing on theoretical resources from international political economy and beyond, we show how petrochemicals sit at the intersection of a number of the primary drivers of the climate crisis, including fossil fuel production and industrial agriculture. The role of petrochemicals and their place in the global political economy of transitions, therefore, warrant greater empirical and critical conceptual scrutiny. Towards this end, we suggest conceptualizing and acting upon the recognition that oil, gas and coal function as feedstock for industries central to the reproduction of modern capitalism, centering the challenge of ‘de-fossilization’. Defossilization goes beyond decarbonization as emphasized in mainstream debates on energy transitions by introducing alternatives to the use of oil, gas and coal as raw materials for synthetics. This reorientation has important conceptual and strategic implications, revealing key tensions, contradictions and challenges for furthering just and sustainable transitions.
(Less)
- author
- Tilsted, Joachim Peter
LU
and Newell, Peter
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- keywords
- defossilization, energy transition, feedstock, fossil fuels, Petrochemicals
- in
- Review of International Political Economy
- pages
- 35 pages
- publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85218710998
- ISSN
- 0969-2290
- DOI
- 10.1080/09692290.2025.2467394
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
- id
- 6cb9e0cd-c5d5-47f5-be24-47159d800193
- date added to LUP
- 2025-04-14 13:24:20
- date last changed
- 2025-04-22 11:47:39
@article{6cb9e0cd-c5d5-47f5-be24-47159d800193,
abstract = {{<p>With simultaneous policy and scholarly attention to the pollution crisis and the climate crisis, there is growing recognition that the two are intimately interconnected through the demand for oil, gas, and coal generated by synthetic materials. Drawing on theoretical resources from international political economy and beyond, we show how petrochemicals sit at the intersection of a number of the primary drivers of the climate crisis, including fossil fuel production and industrial agriculture. The role of petrochemicals and their place in the global political economy of transitions, therefore, warrant greater empirical and critical conceptual scrutiny. Towards this end, we suggest conceptualizing and acting upon the recognition that oil, gas and coal function as feedstock for industries central to the reproduction of modern capitalism, centering the challenge of ‘de-fossilization’. Defossilization goes beyond decarbonization as emphasized in mainstream debates on energy transitions by introducing alternatives to the use of oil, gas and coal as raw materials for synthetics. This reorientation has important conceptual and strategic implications, revealing key tensions, contradictions and challenges for furthering just and sustainable transitions.</p>}},
author = {{Tilsted, Joachim Peter and Newell, Peter}},
issn = {{0969-2290}},
keywords = {{defossilization; energy transition; feedstock; fossil fuels; Petrochemicals}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Taylor & Francis}},
series = {{Review of International Political Economy}},
title = {{Synthetic transitions : The political economy of fossil fuel as feedstock}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2025.2467394}},
doi = {{10.1080/09692290.2025.2467394}},
year = {{2025}},
}