Carbon and post-carbon attachments in the ‘net zero’ transition

My research examines the following questions. First, why and how do people become attached to fossil-fuelled ways of life in a wider context where greenhouse gas emissions urgently need to be cut? Second, can attachments to fossil-fuelled lives be disrupted? If so, how? I explored these questions in my PhD. I examined a case study of a northern English town – one which found itself at the centre of controversy because of plans to open a coal mine in the area. I showed that many of the town’s residents re-attached to the promise of new coal extraction, even though people had detached from coal industries following the closure of coal mines in the 1980s. I argued that this signalled a warning about how fossil fuel attachments can be unexpectedly resurrected, even when a transition towards low-carbon energy production has happened. At the same time, I showed how a small group of residents in the area attached to the possibility of a ‘net zero’ transition, where society is no longer dependent on fossil fuels. They did so after taking part in a democratic citizens’ forum, learning about climate change and devising solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I argued that this signalled an opportunity: That attachments to forms of life which are no longer reliant on fossil fuels can be formed, often at speed, when people re-imagine alternative futures. In this fellowship, I have two key objectives – to communicate the findings of my doctoral research to new audiences, and to open opportunities to carry out new research about people’s attachments to fossil fuelled and post-fossil fuelled ways of life. First, I aim to disseminate my PhD findings among two audiences – academic researchers who examine the politics of energy transitions, and climate change policymakers and campaigners. To publicise my research to academic scholars, I am: publishing my doctoral thesis as a book; writing a new paper in an academic journal, based on one of my thesis chapters; and giving presentations at two academic conferences. Policymakers and campaigners typically engage with content which is shorter than academic publications. I am writing two articles for online media and speaking about my research on a climate change podcast. In addition, I am co-producing a policy brief based on my, and other comparable, research. The brief will be shared with policy organisations (from local authorities and national government audiences to think-tanks and political parties). Second, I am applying for new funding opportunities to build and expand on my research. I will propose examining cases where workers detach from high-carbon industries (in the oil and gas sector) to attach to sustainable industries (e.g., work in renewable industries). My focus is the politics of their actions – how they challenge the power of fossil fuel industries by pointing to the possibility of alternative futures, even when doing so involves embracing risks and uncertainty. Overall, I want to use my research to contribute to tackling the climate emergency, so that we can protect people and future generations. My hope is that my research can play a role in contributing towards that outcome.