Approaches to energy transitions: Carbon pricing, managed decline, and/or green new deal?

Abstract

Abstract The need for wholescale energy transitions across the globe is now clear, but there is still much debate about how best to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Carbon‐pricing has so far been unable to avert the coming climate catastrophe. Instead supply‐side, managed decline of the fossil fuel sector and proposals for Green New Deals, or Just Transition are gaining steam among academics, policy communities, and movements and even entering mainstream politics. In this article, I review three main approaches to energy transition and highlight their underlying goals and assumptions. I argue that movements for energy transition must center social and economic justice in their struggles if they want to gain broad‐based appeal.

Topics & Concepts