0308275x20959419.pdf (295.63 kB)
Waiting for a deus ex machina: ‘sustainable extractives’ in a 2°C world
Version 2 2023-06-07, 08:26
Version 1 2023-06-07, 06:40
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 08:26 authored by Dinah RajakDinah RajakIn recent years the oil industry has shifted from climate change denialism to advocacy of the Paris Agreement, championing sustainability in an apparent assertion (rather than rejection) of corporate responsibility. Meanwhile growth forecasts continue unabated to finance the industry’s enthusiasm for upstream ventures in uncharted territories. How do extractive companies, and those who work in them, square this contradiction? Fieldwork among oil company executives points to a new wave of techno-optimism: a deus ex machina that will descend from the labs of corporate research and development (R&D) labs to reconcile these irreconcilable imperatives. Rather than denial, the projection of win-win synergies between growth and sustainability involves a suspension of disbelief; an instrumental faith in the miraculous power of technology that tenders salvation without forsaking fossil fuels, or restructuring markets.
Funding
Doing Good by Doing Well'.; G1720; ESRC-ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL; ES/L000636/1
Norwegian energy companies abroad: Expanding the anthropological understanding of corporate responsibility; G1748; RESEARCH COUNCIL OF NORWAY; 153400/240617
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Critique of AnthropologyISSN
0308-275XPublisher
SAGE PublicationsExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
40Page range
471-489Department affiliated with
- Anthropology Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2019-08-01First Open Access (FOA) Date
2019-08-01First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2019-07-31Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC