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Climate, Energy, and Ecology

Paper Session

Friday, Jan. 5, 2024 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM (CST)

Marriott Riverwalk, Alamo Ballroom Salon A
Hosted By: Union for Radical Political Economics
  • Chair: Robin Hahnel, American University

Energy Transition, Role of the State, and the Idea of Power: Lessons from China

Debamanyu Das
,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Abstract

As climate crisis unfolds as the biggest existential threat to life on planet earth, so do efforts towards the energy transition. This transition requires critical minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earths which are extracted primarily from countries of the global south, while their processing and refining activities are concentrated in China. Currently China is the leader in this market for critical minerals.

In this context, I evaluate the role of the Chinese State in transforming itself to be the key player of the envisioned low-carbon intensive world. I use Chinese planning documents and data on research and development, to evaluate Chinese domestic and foreign industrial policies starting from the 1980s which historically changed its focus to energy independency and prioritized clean energy to compete with other nations. I also discuss the dependency of private sectors on the State, underscoring the role of State in the energy transition in a broader context, using the success story of the entrepreneurial Chinese State.

In this paper, I also conceptualize the notion of power originating from the control of critical minerals under the lens of political economy. By analyzing the transnational operations under the Belt and Road Initiative, EXIM Bank activities etc., I discuss resource extractivism, its links with imperialism, and how China is increasingly building its power beyond its borders and its implications for the shifting geopolitics during the time of energy transition.

Business Lobbying and Disposition over Climate Legislation

Enes Isik
,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Abstract

Recent studies have improved our understanding of business interests in environmental politics, but little empirical research has explored the political activities of incumbent actors due to past limitations. To address this, this study uses a novel dataset to examine the case of the Waxman-Markey bill, a prominent cap-and-trade regulation approved by the House of Representatives in 2009 but not the Senate in 2010. Findings reveal that groups publicly opposing the regulation spent more on lobbying, indicating that incumbents more effectively mobilize resources to block climate legislation. Additionally, some firms that supported the climate bill were represented on boards of influence groups opposing it, connecting otherwise unconnected actors. These results suggest that firms may strategically support climate regulation to hedge against costlier options while providing resources to opposition coalitions to avoid regulation.

Addressing Societal Challenges through Alternative Financial Regulation: The Case of Climate Change

Faruk Ülgen
,
Grenoble Alpes University

Abstract

This article highlights three features of a capitalist economy that point to institutional changes in financial regulation necessary to address critical concerns such as climate change. The first feature is that the ultimate goal of capitalist dynamics is the accumulation of private wealth. This means that all other points that might be of interest at the societal level are considered as mere means to this end. Second, all economic activity requires financial support through the banking and financial system. The conditions under which activities are financed radically determine the possibility of wealth accumulation over a given period. Third, accumulation rather meets the requirements of individual efficiency than the goals of long-run societal viability. This obviously leads to incompatibility between public interest (macroeconomic stability and sustainability) and private interest (profit accumulation). An interesting expression of this opposition is the double materiality in the transition process: impacts of economic activity on the environment (environmental/social materiality), and impacts of the environment on economic activity (financial materiality). According to the risks and opportunities generated in such an interaction, the organization of capitalist accumulation becomes a matter of public good provisioning through the organization of financial markets. The production of a common good, i.e. environmentally and humanly sustainable organization of the economy, would then call for financial systems reframing according to the rules of preventive collective action. An alternative financial regulation that could shape the market behavior according to a set of sustainable ecotransition goals (ETGs) proves to be a relevant direction.

Climate Change and Economic System Change

Robin Hahnel
,
American University

Abstract

This paper addresses the following questions: (1) Is global neoliberal capitalism now on track to trigger catastrophic, and possibly irreversible climate change? (2) Is there an alternative economic system which would no longer do so, but instead adequately protect the natural environment? (3) Does this mean, as many anti-capitalists argue, that the solution to climate change is to replace capitalism with some version of “eco-socialism?” This paper argues that while the answers to the first and second questions are both a resounding “yes,” the answer to the third question is clearly “no.” This paper also argues that while proponents of every post-capitalist “model” now claim it would adequately protect the natural environment, this may not always be the case.
JEL Classifications
  • Q5 - Environmental Economics
  • B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches