Oil Companies in Transition: A Comparative Case Study of Norwegian, Dutch, and Danish Oil Companies in the Context of Sustainable Energy Transitions

This thesis examines the transition efforts of oil companies in the face of increasing pressure to address climate change and the need for sustainable energy solutions. The study focuses on Norwegian, Dutch, and Danish oil companies, comparing their strategies, challenges, and outcomes in the context of their respective countries' climate change mitigation objectives. The research adopts a qualitative comparative case study design, utilizing content analysis of documents, reports, and publications as the primary data collection method. The thesis begins with an introduction that provides the background and context of the study, highlighting the urgency and importance of oil industry transitions in addressing global sustainability challenges. The problem statement and research questions are formulated to guide the study, aiming to understand the transition strategies and experiences of Norwegian oil companies and compare them with their counterparts in the Netherlands and Denmark. The literature review provides an overview of oil industry transitions, climate change mitigation objectives, and transition strategies adopted by oil companies. It explores theoretical frameworks and concepts relevant to understanding the complexities of oil industry transitions and their implications for sustainable development. The methodology section outlines the research design, which is a qualitative comparative case study. It describes the process of case selection and justification, emphasizing the significance of the Norwegian, Dutch, and Danish cases. The data collection methods focus on content analysis of documents, reports, and publications related to the transition efforts of the selected oil companies. The data analysis techniques include content analysis and thematic analysis to identify key themes, patterns, and insights. The findings of the study are presented in three case studies: the transition of Norwegian oil companies, the transition of Dutch oil companies, and the transition of Danish oil companies. Each case study provides an in-depth analysis of the background of the respective oil industry, climate change mitigation objectives, transition strategies, challenges, and opportunities faced by the oil companies, and their performance in sustainable energy practices. The comparative analysis explores similarities and differences in the transition efforts, highlighting the contextual factors that shape the strategies and outcomes. Based on the findings, the thesis discusses the implications for theory and practice. The theoretical contributions include insights into organizational change, institutional dynamics, stakeholder engagement, and technological innovation in the context of oil industry transitions. The policy implications offer recommendations for policymakers and industry practitioners to facilitate the transition in the oil sector, such as strengthening regulatory frameworks, fostering collaboration, supporting research and development, and promoting a just transition. In conclusion, this thesis contributes to the understanding of oil industry transitions and their implications for sustainable development. The comparative case study approach provides valuable insights into the transition efforts of Norwegian, Dutch, and Danish oil companies, offering lessons and best practices for the broader oil industry. The findings highlight the importance of integrating sustainability into core strategies, addressing regulatory challenges, engaging stakeholders, fostering innovation, and embracing technological advancements. By adopting these strategies and recommendations, oil companies can navigate the complexities of sustainable energy transitions and contribute to the achievement of global sustainability goals

Ambivalence, naturalness and normality in public perceptions of carbon capture and storage in biomass, fossil energy, and industrial applications in the United Kingdom

Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is a promising yet controversial climate change mitigation technology. While numerous studies have addressed perceptions of CCS in fossil energy applications, less attention has been paid to how other applications of the technology may be viewed by lay groups. This article reports on findings from a twoday deliberative focus group held near Drax power station; a coal-biomass co-firing power plant in the north of England. In so doing we adopt a broad, psycho-socially inspired conception of perceived naturalness in order to explore how perceptions of CCS in biomass, fossil fuel, and industrial applications are formed in the context of a range of potential technologies for supporting low carbon energy system transitions. In particular, we explore how perceptions of naturalness and interdependency shaped perceptions of different CCS applications. Our analysis illustrates how perceptions of CCS as threatening, uncanny disruptions to natural systems may shift when re-contextualised to include concerns relating to the intermittency of renewable energy, or be ameliorated through perceptions of industrial and bioenergy applications as supporting natural and economic interdependencies

Contestation, contingency, and justice in the Nordic low-carbon energy transition

The five Nordic countries have aggressive climate and energy policies in place and have already emerged to be leaders in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Denmark is renowned for its pioneering use of wind energy, Finland and Sweden bioenergy, Norway hydroelectricity and Iceland geothermal energy. All countries aim to be virtually “fossil free” by 2050. This study explores the Nordic energy transition through the lens of three interconnected research questions: How are they doing it? What challenges exist? And what broader lessons result for energy policy? The study firstly investigates the pathways necessary for these five countries to achieve their low-carbon goals. It argues that a concerted effort must be made to (1) promote decentralized and renewable forms of electricity supply; (2) shift to more sustainable forms of transport; (3) further improve the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings; and (4) adopt carbon capture and storage technologies for industry. However, the section that follows emphasizes some of the empirical barriers the Nordic transition must confront, namely political contestation, technological contingency, and social justice and recognition concerns. The study concludes with implications for what such historical progress, and future transition pathways, mean for both energy researchers and energy planners

“Just” ecopreneurs: re-conceptualising green transitions and entrepreneurship

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Economic, environmental, and social limits of the current capitalist mode of production have led to a rethinking and reconceptualisation of economic processes and models including the role of businesses in sustainable development. While green economies and more specifically green entrepreneurs have been identified as agents of change that can challenge the mainstream and seek to induce environmental, social, and ethical transformation of society, much research has stayed within existing models of thinking predominantly rooted in technocratic approaches (e.g. ecological modernisation and more recently transition studies). This paper seeks to offer an alternative understanding of green entrepreneurship that breaks open these discussions using an environmental justice frame that focuses on the role of extra-economic discourses in shaping the social relations of economic systems. By drawing on an exemplary case study of “just” entrepreneurship from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, the paper seeks to start a conversation around the ideas of green entrepreneurship and environmental justice as vehicles to deliver potentially broader system changes and explores both conceptual and practical aspects of green development. As such, it offers (1) evidence of a just green economy that can be realised within existing capitalist structures as well as (2) a different conceptual entry point to understanding green entrepreneurship

Energy injustice and Nordic electric mobility: inequality, elitism, and externalities in the electrification of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) transport

Much research on electric mobility transitions has been descriptive or positive, rather than normative or critical, assessing the deeper ethical, justice, or moral issues that arise. To address this gap, this study qualitatively assesses the ongoing transition to Nordic electric vehicles (EVs) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems. It does so through the various lenses of distributive justice, procedural justice, cosmopolitan justice, and recognition justice. It asks: what are the types of injustices associated with electric mobility and V2G? In what ways do emerging patterns of electric mobility worsen socio-environmental risks or vulnerabilities? Based on original primary data collected from 257 experts across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, the study finds that electric mobility can erode elements of distributive justice for being accessible only to the rich, and for raising risks related to privacy, hacking, and cyberterrorism. Electric mobility may contravene aspects of procedural justice by reinforcing exclusion and elitism in national planning. It can erode cosmopolitan justice by producing negative environmental externalities, and exacerbating rural (and global) vulnerability. It may threaten recognition justice through unemployment, disruption to traditional businesses, and the entrenchment of patriarchy. Thankfully, the study also proposes a suite of policy mechanisms to address many of these concerns

The politics of anticipation:the IPCC and the negative emissions technologies experience

Non-technical summary: In the post-Paris political landscape, the relationship between science and politics is changing. We discuss what this means for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), using recent controversies over negative emissions technologies (NETs) as a window into the fraught politics of producing policy-relevant pathways and scenarios. We suggest that pathways and scenarios have a ‘world-making’ power, potentially shaping the world in their own image and creating new political realities. Assessment bodies like the IPCC need to reflect on this power, and the implications of changing political contexts, in new ways. Technical summary: Following the adoption of the Paris Agreement of December 2015, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has begun to reconsider its role in the climate regime. Based on work in Science and Technology Studies (STS), we reconstruct how the IPCC has historically positioned itself between climate science and policy-making. We then discuss particular challenges raised if the IPCC is shifting along the spectrum from attributing causes and detecting impacts of global warming towards projecting policy solutions, including emerging technologies, by examining recent controversies over negative emissions technologies (NETs). We conclude that the IPCC exercises a ‘world-making’ power by providing new, politically powerful visions of actionable futures, for example, based on speculative technologies of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). The task of providing future pathways poses great challenges to conventional ideals of scientific neutrality. We argue that the growing political demand for pathways, and their political significance, requires rethinking modes of assessment that go beyond expert-driven neutral input. Assessment processes must take into account their political contexts and implications in a systematic way

Change Narrative in Fictionalizing the Nuclear Disaster: Trauma as a Starting Point for Hope

Peer reviewe

Exploring the Disassociation between Corporations, Humans, and Nature

The aim of this thesis is to investigate and analyze the disassociation between corporations, humans, and nature using the Eco-Marxist and Posthumanism literary theories. In the first chapter, coal politics of the Appalachian region of the United States are explored using the Eco-Marxist literary theory. This theory allows one to examine how corporations undermine communities and nature for financial gain. Because current research was lacking in regards to local and national coal politics, the author decided to examine an area that was familiar with corporate hegemony. In the second chapter, the issue of bioethics in factory farms is investigated using the Posthumanism literary theory, specifically focusing on how corporations use technology to exploit both human and nonhuman entities. Here, the author introduces the idea of the corporate posthuman by examining the Supreme Court’s rulings to humanize corporations. Laying the framework this concept ultimately allows future researchers to examine ethics beyond the material world. In conclusion, the thesis argues that using literary theory provides the capability to contribute to conversations of ethics, exploitation, and awareness in cultural discourse. This thesis hopes to contribute to the literary theory field and thus make a small contribution to its canon by introducing two concepts and future areas to explore