Climate change is an issue rife with economic risk. The physical impacts of global warming, allowed to intensify by halting international climate cooperation, threaten climate-vulnerable industries and communities. Global transitions away from fossil fuels endanger carbon-intensive economic assets. Whereas climate change is often framed as an issue of global collective action and public goods provision, I instead conceptualize it as one of economic risk and decline. How do workers, voters, and governments perceive and manage mounting "climate risks"? How do they cope with losses stemming from realizations of such risks? I interrogate these questions in reference to the political and economic divisions that exist within and across many of the world's most fossil fuel-intensive and ecologically vulnerable countries. The first two papers of the dissertation consider how ethnoracial divisions within states shape perceptions of climate risks and responses to their realization. In the first, I argue that the ascriptive makeup of an industry serves as a heuristic for evaluating its access to state subsidies and ability to weather climate change and decarbonization. Survey experiments on representative U.S. samples indicate that minority Americans see greater downside risk in industries that hire large numbers of Black workers, expecting those industries to be denied government support as climate risks manifest. Conversely, minorities see less risk in industries that mainly employ white workers, believing those industries to have more benefactors in government. In the second paper, I study how migrants, who have long featured prominently in fossil fuel workforces, politically assimilate amid industrial booms and busts. Whereas scholars often contend that industrial decay aggravates ethnocultural animosities and compounds existing group loyalties, I argue that the starkest intergroup divides can emerge in periods of growth, not decline. When an industry is growing, economic optimism and resources flow across ethnic groups concentrated in that industry, bolstering migrants’ confidence in the ability of coethnics to safeguard their welfare and suppressing investments in political assimilation. Gains from concentration in the industry dissipate amid decline, leading migrants to forge ties with outside groups promising access to political rents previously out of reach. I find support for this theory in the case of the early twentieth century U.S. coal industry. The third paper of the dissertation, coauthored with Richard Clark, explores why some international organizations have retrofit themselves to address climate change despite the intransigence of powerful member states on the issue. We link these pro-climate turns to bureaucrats' socialization in climate-vulnerable countries. As bureaucrats rotate between countries and are promoted, climate concerns then diffuse outwards and upwards, gradually sharpening the climate focus of the institution despite the skepticism of powerful principal states. We find support for this argument in the case of the International Monetary Fund, drawing on original data on bureaucrat career paths and Fund attention to climate change.

This project sets out a theory of how performance can contribute to the spread of ecological values as we, as a species, confront the challenges of the Anthropocene. In response to the theory that the roots of the contemporary ecological crisis lie in the agricultural revolution, the project examines an archive of performances that engage questions of agriculture, land use, and anthropogenic climate change. Chapter 1 looks at mainstream, Western dramas that depict ecodystopian futures; chapter 2 looks at teatros in the Chicano movements and their anti-agribusiness actos; chapter 3 looks at rural, community responsive theater on public lands threatened by fossil fuel development; and chapter 4 looks at anti-pipeline ritual performance in the Niobrara River Valley. These objects of analysis are united in their activist drive to dislodge the values that undergird industrial agriculture and replace them with ecological values. The project argues that an understanding of performance as “performance-assemblage” can help to explain its power to bring about this transvaluation by drawing on the posthuman characteristics of assemblages to “deterritorialize” and “reterritorialize”—that is, to shift elements from one assemblage to another, and to alter the meaning of those elements and assemblages in the process.

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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Fossil fuels are part of fuels that are formed from natural processes and they are called non-renewable sources of energy. These include natural gas, coal and oil. They have been used for decades to produce energy globally. However, there are some factors that related with the use of fossil fuels which results in an increase in the requirement of large amounts of energy. In addition, the use of fossil fuels as energy source has a negative impact on the environment and they cannot be reused. It is expected that at some point they will run out. Thus, a need for a renewable, clean and plentiful source of energy is urgent. Solar energy is one of the energy sources that may overcome fossil fuel drawbacks.

There is an increasing need for renewable energy sources to replace fossils fuels which accumulate harmful byproducts in the environment. Biodiesel emits less gaseous pollutants than diesel. There are various sources for biodiesel but they are unable to meet the existing demands for fuel. Microalgae are a promising source for biodiesel because of its relatively faster growth rate, availability, and lipid content. Microalgae (JC and BT) growing in local water bodies were collected, selected on section media containing antibiotics, and used for characterizations. Experiments were conducted to study and evaluate the optimum growing conditions. Results show that both JC and BT attain maximum growth with shaking and additional aeration compared to control microalgae Dunaliella salina, Nannochlorposis oculata which do not require additional aeration for optimal growth. Lipid extraction results suggest that JC (9.7%) and BT (4.1%) have slightly higher lipid content compared to control algae e.g. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (3.1%).

This thesis examines the relationship between weather variables (wind speeds and temperature), fossil fuel prices (natural gas and coal), and electricity prices in Sweden's electricity market from 2013 to 2023. This research employs multiple linear regression to quantitatively analyze how weather variables and fossil fuel prices influence electricity prices across Sweden's four electricity price areas (SE1, SE2, SE3, and SE4). The study utilized electricity price data from Nord Pool, meteorological data from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, and energy commodity price data from the International Monetary Fund.  The findings reveal that wind speeds have a negative correlation with electricity prices in each electricity price area analyzed. Similarly, temperature also exhibits a negative correlation with electricity prices. In contrast, natural gas and coal prices show a positive correlation with electricity prices. The explanatory power of natural gas and coal prices is higher compared to weather variables; however, this influence diminishes in the northern electricity price areas. Addressing gaps in existing research, this thesis enhances the understanding of the energy market amid the transition towards more sustainable energy systems. The findings have implications for policy formulation and market strategy, particularly in enhancing energy security and sustainability in Sweden. Additionally, this study explores the merit order effect, emphasizing how renewable energy integration influences electricity market volatility and pricing. By providing a comprehensive analysis of these factors, this research offers valuable insights for stakeholders aiming to navigate and optimize the evolving landscape of Sweden's electricity market.

Climate change denial is a widely spread phenomenon in the United States that has for decades shaped the country's response to the numerous environmental challenges it has been facing. This thesis deals with the role of the American fossil fuels lobby in the analyzed matter, as it constituted the main force behind its rise. The main goal of the thesis is to prove that the success of the climate change denial orchestrated by the fossil fuels industry was enabled by its ties to the political establishment. Moreover, it argues that this was done by using professionally drafted strategies, which turned a once-widely-accepted fact - backed by a scientific consensus - into a matter of debate, opinion, politics, ideology, and identity. In order to do that, the thesis firstly covers the historical development of the climate debate in the United Sates. It looks at the major milestones in the country's approach in dealing with the problem of the environment as well as the emergence of the climate change denial campaign itself. Secondly, it analyzes the various connections between U.S. politics, special interests, and climate science from the 1970s until the end of the George W. Bush Administration. Next, it introduces the specific tactics and methods employed by the climate change denial campaign. Moreover,...

The human effort to continuously improve their standard of living in conjunction with the rapid growth of world‟s population, the reckless and the wasteful misuse of energy reserves threaten to lead mankind in an energy deadlock. In an effort to realize the size of the waste of our planet‟s available energy resources, we only need to point out that people have spent the last century stocks of raw materials and energy, which were saved and produced during the lifetime of our planet. The management of the energy systems in a proper and best way is considered to be essential worldwide. In this project the energy system of Greece is studied. The power production systems used in different sectors of life were analyzed. The study emphasized in the electricity production from different sources. Lignite electricity power plants were first introduced in the country followed by the gas power plants and Renewable Energy Sources (RES) installations. The deregulation of electricity market formed the new energy scenery of the country. Electricity grid reinforcements with smart metering and energy storage proved to be necessary in order the RES to be fully penetrated to the national grid, so as Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to be reduced as much as possible. The further expansion of RES could help to cope with the barriers of the country‟s electrification due to singularity of hundred islands that are not yet interconnected to the mainland. Analytical theory methods and numerical skills used to derive the appropriate data and results. Installed capacity of the power sources was verified as well as costs and polluted emissions per unit and type of sources involved. Weaknesses and abnormalities of the electric system were pointed out. Proved gains from the RES use were verified for ensuring the sustainability of the country‟s energy system

Há décadas a comunidade científica vem alertando sobre as mudanças climáticas e a necessidade de reduzir as emissões gases de efeito estufa. Sobre dois pilares fundamentais têm se sustentado a narrativa e as ações para enfrentar a crise ecológica global (a) na desmaterialização da economia usando tecnologias e processos cada mais eficientes (b) na descarbonização da economia usando fontes renováveis. Não obstante, os resultados gerais deste trabalho não encontraram evidência empírica de desmaterialização ou descarbonização da economia mundial. Partindo deste resultado em escala global, aprofundou-se a análise empírica ao nível individual de todas as economias do planeta. Os resultados encontrados indicam que em 4 economias com elevada renda e desenvolvimento tecnológico tem havido descasamento forte (strong decoupling) do uso de energia e das emissões de CO2. Porém, este resultado contrasta com evidências compiladas que apontam que o determinante principal deste descasamento está associado a um processo de desindustrialização destas economias e, concomitantemente, uma acelerada importação de mercadorias produzidas pelas indústrias da Ásia, especialmente a chinesa (energizada a carvão). Portanto, a julgar pela dominância fóssil passada e ainda vigente, não se vislumbra um cenário no curto e médio prazos, de ruptura abrupta entre crescimento econômico futuro e o uso de energia majoritariamente produzida com fósseis. O que está em curso é a gestação de uma futura transição energética alimentada pela introdução de fontes renováveis na matriz energética mundial nos últimos anos, mas com limitações socioeconômicas importantes que são descritas neste trabalho. É mostrado que América Latina pode ter um papel crucial nesta transição, com a industrialização e sinergia regional entre seus recursos naturais (tanto renováveis como não renováveis), sendo as reservas de lítio para produção de baterias um recurso estratégico para impulsionar a mobilidade elétrica. Além da importância socioambiental e política dos padrões analisados neste trabalho, é mostrada também a relevância teórica destes, pois permitem aprofundar o questionamento da representação ortodoxa das relações entre Economia e Natureza. / For decades the scientific community has been warning about climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On two fundamental pillars have been supported the narrative and the actions to face the global ecological crisis (a) \'dematerialization\' of the economy using more efficient technologies and processes (b) decarbonization of the economy using renewable sources. Nevertheless, the overall results of this work did not find empirical evidence of dematerialization (strong decoupling) or decarbonization of the global economy. Starting from this result on a global scale, the empirical analysis was deepened including all the economies of the planet. Our findings are that in 4 high income and technological advanced economies are signs of strong decoupling between both energy use and CO2 emissions. However, these results contrasts with evidence in favor of a decoupling process associated with the deindustrialization of these economies. Simultaneously, the flux of imports produced by Asian industries, especially by coal-fired Chinese industries is increasing. Thus, judging by past and still prevailing fossil dominance, there is no indication of a short-medium term scenario with abrupt rupture between future economic growth and the use of energy (mostly produced with fossils). Currently, there is a global energy transition brewing, pushed by the efforts to insert renewable sources in the world energy matrix. However, important socioeconomic limitations described in this work remains. Latin America may be a crucial actor in the global energy transition, promoting the industrialization and synergy between natural resources (both renewable and non-renewable); being lithium reserves for the production of electric batteries one of the strategic resources to put forward the option of electric mobility. Besides the socioenvironmental and political importance of the results presented here, it was also highlight the theoretical relevance of these, since they allow to deepen in the debate about the orthodox representation of the relations between Economy and Nature.

This article develops a novel methodological framework to investigate the exposure of eco- nomic systems to the risk of physical capital stranding. Combining Input-Output (IO) and network theory, we define measures to identify both the sectors likely to trigger relevant capital stranding cascades and those most exposed to capital stranding risk. We show how, in a sample of ten European countries, mining is among the sectors with the highest external asset strand- ing multipliers. The sectors most affected by capital stranding triggered by decarbonisation include electricity and gas; coke and refined petroleum products; basic metals; and transporta- tion. From these sectors, stranding would frequently cascade down to chemicals; metal products; motor vehicles water and waste services; wholesale and retail trade; and public administration. Finally, we provide an estimate for the lower-bound amount of assets at risk of transition-related stranding, which is in the range of 0.6-8.2% of the overall productive capital stock for our sample of countries, mainly concentrated in the electricity and gas sector, manufacturing, and mining. These results confirm the systemic relevance of transition-related risks on European societies. / Series: Ecological Economic Papers