Transforming a Synthetic World : The Political Economy of Petrochemical Transitions
Tilsted, Joachim Peter LU
(2024)
- Abstract
- Operating enormous, integrated refineries and clusters, the petrochemical industry runs processes in which hydrocarbons are turned into the fundamental components for plastics and other synthetic materials. Continuing a historical trend of consistent output growth, petrochemicals are the largest current driver of oil demand growth. At the same time, the industry is under increasing pressure to transform because of its contribution to what earth system scientists and ecotoxicologists refer to as the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity decline. In short, the petrochemical producers find themselves at a critical juncture. In this vein, this thesis explores the political economy of petrochemical transitions... (More)
- Operating enormous, integrated refineries and clusters, the petrochemical industry runs processes in which hydrocarbons are turned into the fundamental components for plastics and other synthetic materials. Continuing a historical trend of consistent output growth, petrochemicals are the largest current driver of oil demand growth. At the same time, the industry is under increasing pressure to transform because of its contribution to what earth system scientists and ecotoxicologists refer to as the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity decline. In short, the petrochemical producers find themselves at a critical juncture. In this vein, this thesis explores the political economy of petrochemical transitions and the features that define the contestation over the future of fossil-based industry growth. Reframing energy transitions as a matter of not only decarbonisation but of defossilisation, the thesis investigates the linkages between fossil fuels, chemicals and synthetic materials, and the material, institutional, and discursive power of petrochemical incumbents. Drawing on social network, document, and narrative analysis, as well as field observations at industry conferences and global databases, the thesis consists of five interlinked papers and a cover essay. Each paper takes up distinct research questions relating to the political economy of petrochemicals, looking at the past, present, and future of fossil-based synthetics. In the cover essay, I build on the findings of these five papers to argue that the proclaimed forthcoming energy revolution faces intricate difficulties given the structural role of fossil fuels as feedstock, which confers material power upon the actors occupying the petroleum-chemical-synthetics nexus. This power enables incumbent actors to navigate growing transition pressures and pursue production growth. This insight underlines the substantial implications that arise for the political economy of
energy transitions from understanding fossil fuels not only as energy carriers but as feedstock.
On this basis, I argue that transformative industrial change demands an expanded supply-side focus that goes beyond fossil fuels as energy carriers and insists on an ethics that takes human needs as its point of departure. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/7db3c049-ba05-4267-bfb1-5d3477c51829
- author
- Tilsted, Joachim Peter
LU
- supervisor
-
- Fredric Bauer LU
- Lars J Nilsson LU
- opponent
-
- Prof. Paterson, Matthew, University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-08-28
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Petrochemicals, Energy transitions, Synthetics, Defossilisation, Plastic
- pages
- 214 pages
- publisher
- Department of Technology and Society, Lund University
- defense location
- Lecture Hall V:A, building V, Klas Anshelms väg 14, Faculty of Engineering LTH, Lund University, Lund.
- defense date
- 2024-09-20 09:00:00
- ISSN
- 1102-3651
- ISBN
- 978-91-8104-121-7
- 978-91-8104-122-4
- project
- The Political Economy of Petrochemical Transitions
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 7db3c049-ba05-4267-bfb1-5d3477c51829
- date added to LUP
- 2024-08-19 09:37:19
- date last changed
- 2024-08-28 03:12:05
@phdthesis{7db3c049-ba05-4267-bfb1-5d3477c51829,
abstract = {{Operating enormous, integrated refineries and clusters, the petrochemical industry runs processes in which hydrocarbons are turned into the fundamental components for plastics and other synthetic materials. Continuing a historical trend of consistent output growth, petrochemicals are the largest current driver of oil demand growth. At the same time, the industry is under increasing pressure to transform because of its contribution to what earth system scientists and ecotoxicologists refer to as the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity decline. In short, the petrochemical producers find themselves at a critical juncture. In this vein, this thesis explores the political economy of petrochemical transitions and the features that define the contestation over the future of fossil-based industry growth. Reframing energy transitions as a matter of not only decarbonisation but of defossilisation, the thesis investigates the linkages between fossil fuels, chemicals and synthetic materials, and the material, institutional, and discursive power of petrochemical incumbents. Drawing on social network, document, and narrative analysis, as well as field observations at industry conferences and global databases, the thesis consists of five interlinked papers and a cover essay. Each paper takes up distinct research questions relating to the political economy of petrochemicals, looking at the past, present, and future of fossil-based synthetics. In the cover essay, I build on the findings of these five papers to argue that the proclaimed forthcoming energy revolution faces intricate difficulties given the structural role of fossil fuels as feedstock, which confers material power upon the actors occupying the petroleum-chemical-synthetics nexus. This power enables incumbent actors to navigate growing transition pressures and pursue production growth. This insight underlines the substantial implications that arise for the political economy of<br/>energy transitions from understanding fossil fuels not only as energy carriers but as feedstock.<br/><br/>On this basis, I argue that transformative industrial change demands an expanded supply-side focus that goes beyond fossil fuels as energy carriers and insists on an ethics that takes human needs as its point of departure.}},
author = {{Tilsted, Joachim Peter}},
isbn = {{978-91-8104-121-7}},
issn = {{1102-3651}},
keywords = {{Petrochemicals; Energy transitions; Synthetics; Defossilisation; Plastic}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{08}},
publisher = {{Department of Technology and Society, Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Transforming a Synthetic World : The Political Economy of Petrochemical Transitions}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/193528261/Joachim_Peter_Tilsted_-_Transforming_a_Synthetic_World_-_HELA.pdf}},
year = {{2024}},
}