Disassembling the power of high-carbon imaginaries

The overall purpose of this project is to critically examine and better understand how powerful carbon-intensive imaginaries can be disempowered – either realigned or dismantled - to accelerate low-carbon transition.

By analysing and comparing four distinctive carbonscapes – two coalscapes in Poland and two petroscapes in the UK – the project aims to: 1) identify and critically examine impulses of resistance to change, exemplified in the way powerful fossil fuel incumbencies (re)imagine or discursively rework coal and oil as means of stabilising and sustaining their legacy; 2) determine how the material-discursive dynamics and power relations associated with high carbon landscapes constrain and/or enable the power to (re)imagine energy futures; 3) identify openings and opportunities for dismantling and destabilizing incumbent fossil fuel imaginaries in selected carbonscapes.

The study contributes to research on energy futures and energy transitions by implementing a novel combination of analytical frameworks that transcends dominant theoretical approaches, namely: socio-technical imaginaries, assemblages, and materialities.

The project will be conducted in a collaborative research environment involving Uppsala University and Durham University.