Energy Transitions and the Banning of Synthetic Products: Historical Developments and Present-Day Controversies
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 93
Special Issue Editor
Interests: energy history and policy; food policy; circular economy; transportation history; economic geography
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The shift from using lower power density fuels (e.g., biomass and wind) to new sources with a combination of economic and technological advantages (e.g., carbon fuels and nuclear power) has been described as a series of “energy transitions.” According to economic historian Edward Anthony Wrigley, the movement away from an “organic economy” based on materials produced or harvested on the surface of the planet (e.g., firewood and whale oil) towards a “mineral economy” based on underground resources (e.g., coal and synthetic products) has been essential for industrial development and improving standards of living.
However, in recent years, both the desirability of past outcomes and the broader narrative of transition have been called into question. Following calls to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and plastic pollution, policymakers have promoted an organic economy by subsidizing or mandating the use of wind and solar power, biofuels, and biomass-based substitutes for synthetic plastics. Supporters of the mineral economy, however, have blamed renewable power sources (e.g., wind, solar, and biofuels) and biomass-based alternatives as synthetic products (e.g., wood, cardboard, and bamboo) for higher electricity prices; greater damage to the landscape, flora, and fauna; a more unstable grid; and an inability to deliver significant reductions in CO2 emissions. Scholars who observed that sectoral transitions and the promotion of renewable alternatives did not prevent a significant increase in the overall use of older energy sources have argued that the climate and broader environmental crisis have enforced more restrictive policies on the use of materials.
The editor is seeking contributions, either historical or contemporary, that will shed additional light on these debates. Suitable topics include past power and feedstock developments and their economic, social, or environmental impacts; the economic and environmental impact of current energy and feedstock policies; and theoretical or empirical discussions of the energy transition hypothesis and interesting group dynamics in energy and feedstock policy. Theoretical, qualitative, and quantitative approaches, or a combination of these, along with literature reviews, are welcome.
Dr. Pierre Desrochers
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- energy density
- energy transition
- energy addition
- carbon fuels
- forest transition
- biomass
- renewable energy
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