Transitioning to a Post-Carbon Society (eBook)

Ernest Garcia is Professor of Sociology at the University of Valencia, Spain.Mercedes Martinez-Iglesias is a Research Technician at the University of Valencia, Spain.Peadar Kirby is Professor Emeritus of International Politics and Public Policy at the University of Limerick, Ireland.

Acknowledgements 6
Contents 7
Note on Contributors 9
Introduction 12
Mapping the Challenges 14
Post-Carbon Research Project 15
Outline of the Book 18
References 25
Part I: Transition 26
chapter 1: The Deadlock of the Thermo-Industrial Civilization: The (Impossible?) Energy Transition in the Anthropocene 27
Foreword: Nature and the Concept of Historical Trajectory 27
Technology as a European Pre-Industrial Social Fact 34
A Brief Socio-Anthropological Approach to the Anthropocene: A Positivist Metaphysics of Nature 36
The Dark Side of the Term Anthropocene 39
Work and Energy: The Conceptual Victory of the “Thermo-Industry” 40
The Time of Transition: Trajectory Versus Trend 40
Work and Energy, Strange Conceptual Inventions 40
The Three Phenomenological Phases of the Thermo-Industry 43
The First Transition Phase: Viscous Mobility and Network Design 43
The Second Transition Phase: Oil and Liquid Mobility, the Implementation of Technical Macro-Systems 44
The Third Phase of the Energy Transition and the New Stage of the Thermo-Industrial Way: The Obsession with Immediacy and the Absolute Flow of Electricity 46
The Issue of Energy Cannibalism in the Transition to Electricity and the German Dilemma 48
The Temporality of Evolution and Technological Evolutionism 50
Is Another Transition Way Possible? 50
Conclusion: Rupture Beyond Transition 52
Notes 54
References 55
Chapter 2: Uncertainties, Inertia and Cognitive and Psychosocial Obstacles to a Smooth Transition 60
Introduction 60
Obstacles to Adequate Perception 60
Exponential Growth 60
The Tyranny of Small Decisions or the Isolation Paradox 61
The Mythification of Progress 61
Intentional Manipulation of Consciousness 62
The Physical Limits of the Planet and Their Consequences: The Need for a Systemic or Holistic Vision 63
Between Informed Lucidity and the Paralysis of Will 66
Social and Mental Inertias 67
Extreme Interdependencies and the Dangers of Apraxia 67
Mental Inertias and Cultural Dynamism: Which Will Prevail? 68
The Idea of Austerity as a Source of Confusion 69
Does Austerity Mean Living Worse? 71
Austerity and Ecological Footprint 72
The Transition to a 100% Renewable Energy Model 72
Reducing Transport 73
Is Solidarity Possible in a Context of Scarcity? 74
On Complexity, Sustainability and Resilience 76
Conclusion 78
Notes 78
References 79
Chapter 3: Towards the Post-Carbon Society: Searching for Signs of the Transition and Identifying Obstacles 80
The Post-Carbon Transition: Signs of the Future in the Present 81
Macro-Structural Signs and Their Interpretation 84
The Unimaginable Transition: How Today’s Anxieties Block Visions of a Different Tomorrow 87
The Post-Carbon Transition is Absent from the Collective Imagination 88
In the Collective Consciousness, the Transition is Primarily a Matter of Technology 89
The Oppressive Weight of the Present Stifles Our Ability to Imagine the Future 91
Nothing Will Be Like Before 91
Cuts Lead to Unsustainable Poverty 93
Post-Carbon, Overshoot, Way Down, Austerity 98
Notes 104
References 105
Chapter 4: The Degrowth Imperative: Reducing Energy and Resource Consumption as an Essential Component in Achieving Carbon Budget Targets 110
Carbon Budget Targets: Implications for Economic Growth Goals and Paradigms 111
Decarbonization and Degrowth: Frequently Asked Questions and Key Debates 115
Are the Global Warming and Carbon Budget Targets Underpinning the Case for Planned Degrowth Overstated or Understated? 116
Will Existing Technological Solutions Be Sufficient to Stay Within the Global Carbon Budget? 117
How Can the Global Social Equity and Economic Well-Being Implications of a Deliberate Reduction in Energy and Resource Consumption Be Addressed? 120
Will Raising the Case for Degrowth Undermine Political Support for Decisive Climate Action? 121
What Political Strategies Could Plausibly Build Broad Support for Rapid and Comprehensive Reductions in Consumption and Production? 123
Conclusion 125
References 126
Part II: Rethinking Austerity 132
chapter 5: Austerity Pasts, Austerity Futures? 133
Introduction 133
History as Symbolic Resource 137
Securing Consent for Economic Austerity 140
Eco-Austerity, Co-Opted? 141
Austerity for Transition and Degrowth 145
Notes 147
References 148
chapter 6: Coffee, Toast and a Tip? Initial Reflections on the Transformation of the Self 152
Context-Dependent Decisions 153
Our Closest Context and Environment: The Other Human Beings in the Groups We Belong to 153
Is the New Man Really Just the Old Man in New Situations? 154
How Can the After Engender the Before? 155
Politico-Moral Self-Construction 156
Who Educates the Educator? 158
What Type of Self-Construction? 159
Decentring and Transforming the Self: Mitigating Egocentricity 159
Conversion: Epistrophe and Metanoia 161
The Temptation to Become Gods 161
Towards a Pedagogy of Self-Control 162
Love One Another or Die 164
Intellectual and Moral Reform 166
We Never Tire of the Sisyphean Task of Being Human 167
Notes 168
References 175
chapter 7: Frugal Abundance in an Age of Limits: Envisioning a Degrowth Economy 179
Introduction 179
Framing and Contextualizing the Analysis 181
Envisioning an Austerity of Degrowth 184
Water 184
Food 185
Clothing 187
Housing 188
Energy 188
Transport 189
Work and Production 190
Money, Markets and Exchange 191
Technology 192
Conclusion 193
Note 194
References 195
Part III: Case Studies 200
Chapter 8: Cloughjordan Ecovillage: Modelling the Transition to a Low-Carbon Society 201
Introduction 201
Cloughjordan Ecovillage 202
Ecovillages and the Transition to a Low-Carbon Society 206
Transitioning to a Low-Carbon Society: The Cloughjordan Experience 209
Energy 209
Land Management, Water and Waste 210
Sustainable Building 212
Community Issues 213
Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) 214
Livelihoods 215
Community 216
Governing for the Transition: The Viable Systems Model (VSM) 217
Measuring the Transition: Cloughjordan’s Ecological Footprint 219
Conclusions: Harvesting the Lessons 220
References 222
Chapter 9: Challenges for Wind Turbines in the Energy Transition: The Example of an Offshore Wind Farm in France 224
A Project Centred Solely on Production 225
Energy for the Large Electricity Network 225
The Limitations of the Dialogue 227
Alternative Energy 230
Wind Power Versus Nuclear Power 231
Giving a New Meaning to Progress 231
Sea Against Fire 234
Conclusion 235
Notes 235
References 236
Chapter 10: Social Partners, Environmental Issues and New Challenges in the Post-Carbon Society 238
Social Partners and Environmental Issues 238
Employers and the Environmental Challenge 239
Trade Unions and the Environmental Challenge 243
The Post-Carbon Society: A Long-Term Reality? 245
Social Partners’ Perception of a Post-Carbon Society 246
Note 250
References 250
chapter 11: Landfill Culture: Some Implications to Degrowth 251
Introduction 251
Waste Policy and Management Practices as the Basis of Landfill Culture 253
Notes 262
References 262
Chapter 12: Social Actions Transformed in a Post-­Carbon Transition: The Case of Barcelona 265
Neighbourhood Study 266
Transition to a Post-Carbon Society 266
Transition in the Neighbourhood of Sant Martí–La Verneda 271
Participative Energy Plan 273
Urban Gardens 275
Social Justice and the Impacts of Redistribution 276
Degrowth 279
Conclusion 280
Note 281
References 281
Erratum to: Social Partners, Environmental Issues and New Challenges in the Post-Carbon Society 283
Conclusion 284
The Nature of the Transition 285
Politics and the Transition 286
From Technology to Ethics 289
Social Experimentalism 290
Reconstructing Austerity 291
References 294
Index 296