Re: ISA 2025 proposed panel - CfP for "Critical perspectives on carbon lock-in"
Kate Neville
Dear colleagues,
Adding to the chorus of those proposing panels for the International Studies Association meeting in Chicago in March 2025.
Shardul Tiwari and I are organizing a panel on carbon lock-in and carbon-related technologies, and are putting out a call for papers. As many of you know, ISA panels need 5 papers, a chair and a discussant. Paper proposals should have a title (50 words max), an author list (names, emails, affiliations), and an abstract (200 words max). Proposals are due by June 1, so please be in touch with us by email (to kate.n...@utoronto.ca and s.ti...@utoronto.ca) by Friday, May 18 with expressions of interest to participate in this panel (even if you don’t have a finalized abstract, let me know if you’re interested!).
To submit a proposal, all authors must have an ISA account (these are free to register for); if the panel is accepted, panelists must register for the conference (you can register as a non-member, or become an ISA member and get member prices for conference registration – note there is a sliding scale for registration and membership depending on your career stage and income).
And a note on the topic of the panel: this brief abstract doesn’t indicate this, but of course these ideas on carbon lock-in, decarbonization pathways, climate delay as denial, ownership structures for technology, and more draw on the work many of you have been doing for a long time! We’re looking forward to continuing and building on these conversations.
Panel title: Critical perspectives on carbon lock-in: Capture, storage, and fuel synthesis technologies in energy transitions
Panel abstract: At present, most carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies are being developed and used to improve emissions intensity of production or extend the life of oil and gas wells. The critical social science research suggests that the current trajectories and projected uses of these technologies will prolong fossil fuel dependence, reinforce the incumbent power of the fossil fuel industry, and delay climate action. However, theoretically, there are possibilities for carbon capture, storage, conversion, and re-use pathways that could disentangle the ongoing use of hydrocarbons from fossil fuel extraction. The technological promise is that fuel synthesis could enable longer-term renewable energy storage and could decouple hard-to-transition sectors from their reliance on new extraction. Is this just another incremental improvement that locks in carbon-intensive futures? Can changing the systems of governance or the ownership of technology or the sites of technological experimentation provide pathways for these technologies to support or enable more transformative energy futures? Do these anticipated circular carbon economies disrupt fossil fuels but create other social and environmental harm? This panel explores these questions.
All best,
Kate
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Dr. Kate J. Neville
Associate Professor, Political Science and School of the Environment
University of Toronto
** Forthcoming book: Going to Seed: Essays on Idleness, Nature, and Sustainable Work **
Winner of the inaugural Sowell Emerging Writers Prize
In the US: 9781682832035, May 2024, Texas Tech University Press
In Canada: 9781779400000, May 2024, University of Regina Press
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