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Ending Fossil Fuels: Why Net Zero is Not Enough
Ending the Fossil Fuel Industry is the only credible path for climate policy
Around the world, countries and companies are setting net-zero carbon emissions targets. But what will it mean if those targets are achieved? One possibility is that fossil fuel companies will continue to produce billions of tons of atmospheric CO2 while relying on a symbiotic industry to scrub the air clean. Focusing on emissions draws our attention away from the real problem: the point of production.
The fossil fuel industry must come to an end but will not depart willingly; governments must intervene. By embracing a politics of rural-urban coalitions and platform governance, climate advocates can build the political power needed to nationalize the fossil fuel industry and use its resources to draw carbon out of the atmosphere.
Around the world, countries and companies are setting net-zero carbon emissions targets. But what will it mean if those targets are achieved? One possibility is that fossil fuel companies will continue to produce billions of tons of atmospheric CO2 while relying on a symbiotic industry to scrub the air clean. Focusing on emissions draws our attention away from the real problem: the point of production.
The fossil fuel industry must come to an end but will not depart willingly; governments must intervene. By embracing a politics of rural-urban coalitions and platform governance, climate advocates can build the political power needed to nationalize the fossil fuel industry and use its resources to draw carbon out of the atmosphere.
208 pages, Paperback
Published November 16, 2021
21 people are currently reading
455 people want to read
About the author
Holly Jean Buck
11 books25 followersHolly Buck writes on emerging technologies in the Anthropocene, with work appearing in journals such as Development and Change, Climatic Change, Global Sustainability, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, and Hypatia. Since 2009, she has been researching the social dimensions of geoengineering as a faculty fellow with the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment in Washington, DC, as a member of the Steering Committee for the international Climate Engineering Conference in Berlin, and as a doctoral researcher at Cornell University, from which she holds a PhD in development sociology.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 5, 2023
First of all, I really love it when non-fiction writers invite you to think alongside them with little exercises or thought experiments, and this book of full of that.
I just started a new job in the climate advocacy world, trying to influence banks to end financing for coal-based steel production, and instead finance a just transition towards green steel production. So I wanted to read this as a "lay of the land" when it comes to net zero, as most banks and steel companies are setting net zero targets, but the book ended up being so much more.
It's a really illustrative and in depth exploration of the limitations and potential soltuions for truly *ending* fossil fuel production and consumption. Each chapter is full of jumping off points of intiatives, policies and research from past and present to get a grasp on where we're at, and what could come next with enough mobilisation and political power.
I think the main thesis from this book that I loved the most, and is articulated so well is this:
“Fossil fuels” becomes a shorthand for this whole system of exploitation. There’s a danger that if we’re so focused on the material substance, we’ll miss the whole thing that needs to be changed, the social relations.”
I just started a new job in the climate advocacy world, trying to influence banks to end financing for coal-based steel production, and instead finance a just transition towards green steel production. So I wanted to read this as a "lay of the land" when it comes to net zero, as most banks and steel companies are setting net zero targets, but the book ended up being so much more.
It's a really illustrative and in depth exploration of the limitations and potential soltuions for truly *ending* fossil fuel production and consumption. Each chapter is full of jumping off points of intiatives, policies and research from past and present to get a grasp on where we're at, and what could come next with enough mobilisation and political power.
I think the main thesis from this book that I loved the most, and is articulated so well is this:
“Fossil fuels” becomes a shorthand for this whole system of exploitation. There’s a danger that if we’re so focused on the material substance, we’ll miss the whole thing that needs to be changed, the social relations.”
December 28, 2023
หนังสือเกี่ยวกับ climate change ที่ดีที่สุดที่ได้อ่านในปี 2023 เขียนโดย Holly Jean Buck อาจารย์คณะสิ่งแวดล้อมและความยั่งยืน มหาวิทยาลัยบัฟฟาโลในนิวยอร์ก หนึ่งในคณะผู้เขียนรายงาน IPCC หลังจากที่พยายามอ่านหนังสือ งานวิจัย ฯลฯ เกี่ยวกับ climate change มากขึ้นตั้งแต่ปี 2022 เป็นต้นมาเพราะต้องทำงานวิจัยที่เกี่ยวข้องมากขึ้น ก็เริ่มรู้ว่า เวลาอ่านข้อตกลงระหว่างประเทศ คำประกาศใด ๆ ในที่ประชุมระดับโลกอย่าง COP แล้ว ก็ต้องไปอ่านทัศนะและข้อเขียนของนักวิทยาศาสตร์ที่เกี่ยวข้องมาเปรียบเทียบว่า “วิทยาศาสตร์” จริง ๆ ว่าอย่างไร ก่อนที่จะถูกลดทอนหรือต่อรองด้วยกลุ่มผลประโยชน์จน “ข้อตกลง” ออกมาอย่างที่เห็น ถถถ
ใน Ending Fossil Fuels อาจารย์ Holly อธิบายอย่างแจ่มชัดว่า เป้า “net zero” ที่เป็นกระแสไปทั่วโลกตั้งแต่ระดับ COP นั้น เป็นแนวคิดอันตรายที่อำพรางอนาคตหลายแบบที่อาจเกิดขึ้นได้ เราอาจมีอนาคต “net zero” ที่อุตสาหกรรมเชื้อเพลิงฟอสซิลยังคงปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกมหาศาลออกสู่ชั้นบรรยากาศ และสร้างอุตสาหกรรมดูดจับและกักเก็บคาร์บอน (CCS/CCU) ขนาดยักษ์ขึ้นมาดูดมันออกมา อาจารย์พยายามชี้ให้เห็นว่า การเน้น “ปริมาณการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจก” เบี่ยงเบนความสนใจเราออกจากจุดที่เราต้องสนใจจริง ๆ นั่นคือ กระบวนการผลิตที่ปล่อยคาร์บอนสูงตั้งแต่แรก พูดอีกอย่างก็คือ อาจารย์ Holly ชี้ว่าเป้าหมายที่แท้จริงที่เราต้องการก็คือ ยกเลิกการใช้เชื้อเพลิงฟอสซิล ไม่ใช่คาร์บอนสุทธิเป็นศูนย์หรือ net zero
อย่างไรก็ดี อาจารย์ Holly ก็ไม่ใช่นักอุดมคติที่เรียกร้องให้โลก “หยุดใช้เชื้อเพลิงฟอสซิลเดี๋ยวนี้เลย” เพราะความจริงก็คือวันนี้เชื้อเพลิงฟอสซิลยังถูกใช้เป็นเชื้อเพลิงหลัก (80%) ของพลังงานโลก และการหยุดแบบทันทีก่อนที่โครงสร้างทางเลือกใหม่ ๆ จะมีความพร้อมก็สุ่มเสี่ยงที่จะทำให้โลกขาดพลังงานและเศรษฐกิจชะงักงัน หนังสือเล่มนี้ชี้ให้เห็นอันตรายและกับดักของการตั้งเป้า net zero ก็จริง แต่ก็ปฏิเสธความคิดง่าย ๆ ด้วย เช่น ความเชื่อที่ว่าเชื้อเพลิงฟอสซิลจะแข่งขันไม่ได้กับพลังงานหมุนเวียนที่มีราคาลดลงเรื่อย ๆ จนต้องออกจากตลาดไปเองโดยที่เราไม่ต้องทำอะไร
นอกจากจะชอบวิธีที่อาจารย์ Holly อธิบายเรื่องปัญหาของแนวคิด net zero แล้ว ส่วนที่ชอบเป็นพิเศษคือคำอธิบายที่ชัดเจนว่า อุตสาหกรรมที่ลดคาร์บอนยากอย่างปิโตรเคมีนั้นลดยากเพราะอะไร ขณะเดียวกันอาจารย์ก็ชี้ให้เห็นโอกาสในแง่อุตสาหกรรมใหม่ ๆ เช่น การนำคาร์บอนมารีไซเคิลผ่านกระบวนการดักจับและกักเก็บคาร์บอนอาจมีประโยชน์มากในแง่เชื้อเพลิง วัสดุก่อสร้าง และเคมีภัณฑ์ที่ใช้คาร์บอนไดอ็อกไซด์ และดูเหมือนอาจารย์จะมีความหวังกับ “การปฏิรูปวงการเคมี” ว่าจะช่วยเราแก้ปัญหาโลกรวนและสร้างโอกาสใหม่ ๆ ทางเศรษฐกิจได้ไปพร้อมกัน
ใน Ending Fossil Fuels อาจารย์ Holly อธิบายอย่างแจ่มชัดว่า เป้า “net zero” ที่เป็นกระแสไปทั่วโลกตั้งแต่ระดับ COP นั้น เป็นแนวคิดอันตรายที่อำพรางอนาคตหลายแบบที่อาจเกิดขึ้นได้ เราอาจมีอนาคต “net zero” ที่อุตสาหกรรมเชื้อเพลิงฟอสซิลยังคงปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกมหาศาลออกสู่ชั้นบรรยากาศ และสร้างอุตสาหกรรมดูดจับและกักเก็บคาร์บอน (CCS/CCU) ขนาดยักษ์ขึ้นมาดูดมันออกมา อาจารย์พยายามชี้ให้เห็นว่า การเน้น “ปริมาณการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจก” เบี่ยงเบนความสนใจเราออกจากจุดที่เราต้องสนใจจริง ๆ นั่นคือ กระบวนการผลิตที่ปล่อยคาร์บอนสูงตั้งแต่แรก พูดอีกอย่างก็คือ อาจารย์ Holly ชี้ว่าเป้าหมายที่แท้จริงที่เราต้องการก็คือ ยกเลิกการใช้เชื้อเพลิงฟอสซิล ไม่ใช่คาร์บอนสุทธิเป็นศูนย์หรือ net zero
อย่างไรก็ดี อาจารย์ Holly ก็ไม่ใช่นักอุดมคติที่เรียกร้องให้โลก “หยุดใช้เชื้อเพลิงฟอสซิลเดี๋ยวนี้เลย” เพราะความจริงก็คือวันนี้เชื้อเพลิงฟอสซิลยังถูกใช้เป็นเชื้อเพลิงหลัก (80%) ของพลังงานโลก และการหยุดแบบทันทีก่อนที่โครงสร้างทางเลือกใหม่ ๆ จะมีความพร้อมก็สุ่มเสี่ยงที่จะทำให้โลกขาดพลังงานและเศรษฐกิจชะงักงัน หนังสือเล่มนี้ชี้ให้เห็นอันตรายและกับดักของการตั้งเป้า net zero ก็จริง แต่ก็ปฏิเสธความคิดง่าย ๆ ด้วย เช่น ความเชื่อที่ว่าเชื้อเพลิงฟอสซิลจะแข่งขันไม่ได้กับพลังงานหมุนเวียนที่มีราคาลดลงเรื่อย ๆ จนต้องออกจากตลาดไปเองโดยที่เราไม่ต้องทำอะไร
นอกจากจะชอบวิธีที่อาจารย์ Holly อธิบายเรื่องปัญหาของแนวคิด net zero แล้ว ส่วนที่ชอบเป็นพิเศษคือคำอธิบายที่ชัดเจนว่า อุตสาหกรรมที่ลดคาร์บอนยากอย่างปิโตรเคมีนั้นลดยากเพราะอะไร ขณะเดียวกันอาจารย์ก็ชี้ให้เห็นโอกาสในแง่อุตสาหกรรมใหม่ ๆ เช่น การนำคาร์บอนมารีไซเคิลผ่านกระบวนการดักจับและกักเก็บคาร์บอนอาจมีประโยชน์มากในแง่เชื้อเพลิง วัสดุก่อสร้าง และเคมีภัณฑ์ที่ใช้คาร์บอนไดอ็อกไซด์ และดูเหมือนอาจารย์จะมีความหวังกับ “การปฏิรูปวงการเคมี” ว่าจะช่วยเราแก้ปัญหาโลกรวนและสร้างโอกาสใหม่ ๆ ทางเศรษฐกิจได้ไปพร้อมกัน
December 23, 2021
There was something disturbing and unsettling in reading Holly Jean Buck’s impressive unpacking of the problem of fossil fuels the same week as COP26 delegates were failing miserably in addressing the very issue. While too many apologists emphasise that the conference for the first time confronted the issue of managing fossil fuels, even if the objective was weakened from ‘phase out’ to ‘phase down’, this focus conceals the wider failure of the conference to do anything substantive or even fend off backsliding.
Buck’s case against fossil fuels is policy based opens with an exploration of the origins of the notion of ‘net-zero’ as a sop to fossil fuel economies and as a way to conceal or at least obfuscate the extent of the failure of policy and goal setting associated with states’ climate change response rhetoric. As interesting as this background is, it only lays the basis for the substantive subsequent two sections of the book that outline ways to think and comprehend a fossil fuel phase out and the kinds of policy instruments and approaches that might bring that about. At the heart of this is a shift in perspective, where the net-zero goal focuses on emission rather than extraction, and that the only path to slowing climate change as an actual zero approach that requires the cessation of extraction.
In terms of the ways to think, she highlights five key tropes. At the base of problem lies a culture of dependence on fossil fuels, but it is more than dependence, it is a way of thinking about and making sense of our place in the world as citizens, as travellers, as consumers and more. Other aspects of this discussion focus on the technology of phase-out, on geopolitical dynamics, on intellectual and management infrastructures and challenges of political decision-making in specific environments and jurisdictions. All of these are highlighted not as impediments but as solvable questions – so the discussion of political power & decision-making draws on the attempts by big tobacco to conceal the costs of its product and the collapse of those efforts. In this she highlights direct parallels with big oil and the wider fossil fuel business model, while also making clear that there is a distinction between exposing the damage fossil fuels do and getting meaningful action taken. Amid all of this, the case remains essentially optimistic – that there are big challenges but they can be overcome.
The remainder of the discussion looks at how that phase out might be achieved through specific policy instruments, including imposing bans and other limitations on funding extraction, cutting out subsidies, managing phase out through an agreed quota system to ramp down extraction, nationalising fossil fuel industries as a path to phase out and finally engineering options to link carbon clean-up to phase out. This is big, and ambitious thinking, and it seems to me, from the outside of these debates, just the kind of think that we need to get past the ineffective tinkering that dominates current climate change policy and that lies at the root of the failures of COP26 and other initiatives.
Despite the potential technical demands of this analysis, Buck is very good at taking non-specialist readers (or at least this non-specialist) through the policy and engineering issues. Moving to a post-fossil fuel lifestyle seems to require huge and essential cultural, social and technological shifts and with it the kind of big thinking we see here. Buck may or may not be right, but she seems to me to be asking the right kinds of questions and thinking at the kind of systemic change scale we need.
That’s why it was so unsettling and with it so invigorating to be reading this while COP26 was ineffectively tinkering.
Buck’s case against fossil fuels is policy based opens with an exploration of the origins of the notion of ‘net-zero’ as a sop to fossil fuel economies and as a way to conceal or at least obfuscate the extent of the failure of policy and goal setting associated with states’ climate change response rhetoric. As interesting as this background is, it only lays the basis for the substantive subsequent two sections of the book that outline ways to think and comprehend a fossil fuel phase out and the kinds of policy instruments and approaches that might bring that about. At the heart of this is a shift in perspective, where the net-zero goal focuses on emission rather than extraction, and that the only path to slowing climate change as an actual zero approach that requires the cessation of extraction.
In terms of the ways to think, she highlights five key tropes. At the base of problem lies a culture of dependence on fossil fuels, but it is more than dependence, it is a way of thinking about and making sense of our place in the world as citizens, as travellers, as consumers and more. Other aspects of this discussion focus on the technology of phase-out, on geopolitical dynamics, on intellectual and management infrastructures and challenges of political decision-making in specific environments and jurisdictions. All of these are highlighted not as impediments but as solvable questions – so the discussion of political power & decision-making draws on the attempts by big tobacco to conceal the costs of its product and the collapse of those efforts. In this she highlights direct parallels with big oil and the wider fossil fuel business model, while also making clear that there is a distinction between exposing the damage fossil fuels do and getting meaningful action taken. Amid all of this, the case remains essentially optimistic – that there are big challenges but they can be overcome.
The remainder of the discussion looks at how that phase out might be achieved through specific policy instruments, including imposing bans and other limitations on funding extraction, cutting out subsidies, managing phase out through an agreed quota system to ramp down extraction, nationalising fossil fuel industries as a path to phase out and finally engineering options to link carbon clean-up to phase out. This is big, and ambitious thinking, and it seems to me, from the outside of these debates, just the kind of think that we need to get past the ineffective tinkering that dominates current climate change policy and that lies at the root of the failures of COP26 and other initiatives.
Despite the potential technical demands of this analysis, Buck is very good at taking non-specialist readers (or at least this non-specialist) through the policy and engineering issues. Moving to a post-fossil fuel lifestyle seems to require huge and essential cultural, social and technological shifts and with it the kind of big thinking we see here. Buck may or may not be right, but she seems to me to be asking the right kinds of questions and thinking at the kind of systemic change scale we need.
That’s why it was so unsettling and with it so invigorating to be reading this while COP26 was ineffectively tinkering.
February 27, 2022
Book in 3 (max.) sentences:
• There are lot of different ways to talk about “net zero” carbon emissions, but ultimately this discourse is a strategy to maintain a “business-as-usual” approach to carbon emissions
• We need to look at the concept of net zero from multiple perspectives (“lenses”) to understand where there is resistance to the idea and how compromises can be found
• Reaching net zero will be a painful process, but the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
General Impressions:
Not being a climate expert, I’m super impressed with the sheer amount of facts and perspectives Buck fits into this book. After reading the title, I had my suspicions this work would be a polemic against evil fossil fuels industries, providing a passionate plea in favour of putting them out of business. I therefore found it really encouraging how, in her introduction, Buck not only outlines the value in phasing out fossil fuels, but also underlines the difficulties in doing so, including for example the “hard realities” of fossil fuels still making up the overwhelming majority of our energy supply, the close financial and political ties of global fossil fuel industries with national governments, and the millions of people employed in these industries worldwide. Throughout her book, she manages to balance these realities with the urgency of phasing out fossil fuels. As a result, the book helps create a common ground for people with differing views to meet in. As long as the title isn’t too off-putting for the staunchest of fossil fuel fans.
However, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the structure and narrative of the book, which is all over the place. Different chapters vary wildly in length, anecdotes and case studies are sometimes introduced in sections which seemingly don’t relate to the problem these stories address. The lack of an index of any kind is infuriating, especially given the vast number of statistics, names, and events scattered throughout the text. Unfortunately, the result of the information being somewhat disorganised is an argument that lacks punch. It’s what changes this book from a “must read” to a “must read several times to get a clearer sense of the information presented”. This is the only book I’ve read from this author, so it might be unrepresentative of her other scholarship. I think a significant part of the responsibility of this also lies with her publisher, Verso Books – I wonder if they had a reason for structuring the book like they did.
• There are lot of different ways to talk about “net zero” carbon emissions, but ultimately this discourse is a strategy to maintain a “business-as-usual” approach to carbon emissions
• We need to look at the concept of net zero from multiple perspectives (“lenses”) to understand where there is resistance to the idea and how compromises can be found
• Reaching net zero will be a painful process, but the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
General Impressions:
Not being a climate expert, I’m super impressed with the sheer amount of facts and perspectives Buck fits into this book. After reading the title, I had my suspicions this work would be a polemic against evil fossil fuels industries, providing a passionate plea in favour of putting them out of business. I therefore found it really encouraging how, in her introduction, Buck not only outlines the value in phasing out fossil fuels, but also underlines the difficulties in doing so, including for example the “hard realities” of fossil fuels still making up the overwhelming majority of our energy supply, the close financial and political ties of global fossil fuel industries with national governments, and the millions of people employed in these industries worldwide. Throughout her book, she manages to balance these realities with the urgency of phasing out fossil fuels. As a result, the book helps create a common ground for people with differing views to meet in. As long as the title isn’t too off-putting for the staunchest of fossil fuel fans.
However, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the structure and narrative of the book, which is all over the place. Different chapters vary wildly in length, anecdotes and case studies are sometimes introduced in sections which seemingly don’t relate to the problem these stories address. The lack of an index of any kind is infuriating, especially given the vast number of statistics, names, and events scattered throughout the text. Unfortunately, the result of the information being somewhat disorganised is an argument that lacks punch. It’s what changes this book from a “must read” to a “must read several times to get a clearer sense of the information presented”. This is the only book I’ve read from this author, so it might be unrepresentative of her other scholarship. I think a significant part of the responsibility of this also lies with her publisher, Verso Books – I wonder if they had a reason for structuring the book like they did.
December 15, 2021
Holly Jean Buck's books number among the most essential of the new climate change literature that has emerged. They are deftly technical and very intelligent about the politics, policies, and histories of the concepts that she discusses, which are always about a half-minute (or half-year) ahead of the news cycle. Buck is both a teacher and a critic, and she works hard toward accessibility in this as in her previous book about geoengineering. The results are fantastic.
If you're reading this, you should read Ending Fossil Fuels.
If you're reading this, you should read Ending Fossil Fuels.
April 6, 2023
A useful and straightforward appraisal of a variety of issues with net-zero as a framing and the interlocking problems that hinder efforts to create a more just world free of fossil fuels.
The strenght of the book lies in recognising the massively broad implications neccessary to consider once the interconnectivity of all the topics that oil, coal, and gas intersect with is highlighted. Political corruption and violence; the ease at which companies evade and break the law; land usage, racialisation, and the destruction of traditional management techniques; public health problems from respiratory conditions to cancer; the cultures of consumerism and, frankly, selfishness demanded by producers of petrochemical products; historic and geopolitical concerns including the unequal burdens of imperialism; the infrastructure and planning needed to wind down production; limitations with carbon capture and renewable energy; the role decarbonised fossil fuels may play in a transition period; the role tech companies play in facilitating all of the above; the uncountable number of methods and results that degrowth/phaseout plans could bring forth. It is a long list of fairly urgent things to consider, each able to be picked apart for exploration by much larger books than this. In balancing all of these issues in a way that quickly elucidates them for newcomers to digest without feeling too rushed or hollow, or without becoming tedious or overly dense, the book is an easy one to recommend.
The strenght of the book lies in recognising the massively broad implications neccessary to consider once the interconnectivity of all the topics that oil, coal, and gas intersect with is highlighted. Political corruption and violence; the ease at which companies evade and break the law; land usage, racialisation, and the destruction of traditional management techniques; public health problems from respiratory conditions to cancer; the cultures of consumerism and, frankly, selfishness demanded by producers of petrochemical products; historic and geopolitical concerns including the unequal burdens of imperialism; the infrastructure and planning needed to wind down production; limitations with carbon capture and renewable energy; the role decarbonised fossil fuels may play in a transition period; the role tech companies play in facilitating all of the above; the uncountable number of methods and results that degrowth/phaseout plans could bring forth. It is a long list of fairly urgent things to consider, each able to be picked apart for exploration by much larger books than this. In balancing all of these issues in a way that quickly elucidates them for newcomers to digest without feeling too rushed or hollow, or without becoming tedious or overly dense, the book is an easy one to recommend.
"Net-zero on its own is the wrong target of climate action. Curbing production and climate justice are both better goals...
Phaseout needs to be approached in a multidimensional way. It requires deep cultural transformation. It requires bothconsidering infrastructure from both place-based perspectives and global perspectives. Phasing out fossil fuels requires a democratic planning capacity, and, in developing it, we can also develop the planning and political power to phase out other things that kill or harm people and ecosystems. We will need that capacity to make it through this century and beyond. The ability to end things is emancipatory."
December 31, 2021
I was really looking forward to this book, but it left me somewhat underwhelmed. While it's not a long book, it took me ages to get through the second half. The book does a good job of pointing out the complexities of the energy transition, but altogether it felt very uninspired. While there was clearly a good amount of thought put into the structure, Holly Buck touches upon all sorts of topics without establishing a strong red thread. But then again, the issue is certainly complex, and perhaps it is wrong to be hoping for the book to make a strong moral statement, when it is more focused on the technical side of fossil fuel phase-outs.
May 25, 2022
there's a lot of good stuff in this book--Buck is ever-attentive to the details of energy transition that might not be present in our heads when we imagine what the end of fossil fuels looks like. the "data" chapter on the internet, social media, machine learning, etc., i found to be deeply compelling. but though there is an insistence on public ownership and nationalization, there isn't any sense that capitalism needs to / will end as a necessary feature of any transition, nor much skepticism that "policy" even has a chance of doing any of this. despite the title and back blurb ("ending the fossil fuel industry is the only credible path for climate policy"), and gesturing towards the (largely Indigenous led) calls to "keep it in the ground", the book actually makes the opposite argument--that the fossil fuel industry needs to be transformed but *NOT* ended. it argues both that some fossil fuel extraction ought to continue, and that it ought to be organized as an industry. so though it was a pretty good book for what it actually is--an introductory trade publication perhaps aimed at an audience of policymakers and activists interested in the technical end of the spectrum--my expectations based on the summary and Verso publication left me wondering a bit.
June 10, 2024
“The ability to end things is emancipatory.”
Very very solid outline of not only the myth of “net zero emissions”, but also offers very good arguments in favor of ending fossil fuels beyond just GHG emissions, and offers extensive practical solutions. Deserving of hundreds of pages though this clocks in just under 200. Highly recommend if you are in need of a more concrete understanding of the politics of emissions and oil/natural gas production phaseout (who isn’t?).
Very very solid outline of not only the myth of “net zero emissions”, but also offers very good arguments in favor of ending fossil fuels beyond just GHG emissions, and offers extensive practical solutions. Deserving of hundreds of pages though this clocks in just under 200. Highly recommend if you are in need of a more concrete understanding of the politics of emissions and oil/natural gas production phaseout (who isn’t?).
June 14, 2022
I found it a really clear and unhysterical insight into the language around ending fossil fuels. I'd been mystified and suspicious of much of the terminology used in public announcements and discourse, and this book explains why that gut instinct was right! There's a lot here, and I'll need to re-read, but I'm very pleased to have found it and would highly recommend it.
February 23, 2023
HJB is the best writer on climate change in English at the moment. Exemplary clarity, an admirable resistence to jargon and abbreviations. A real mission to explain and a passionate, practical sense that it's possible to stop the emission of GHG and then to go further and reverse it.
Not a Panglossian green-tech idealist, not a doom-merchant, not a "la-la-la-la-can't-hear-you" neoliberal applogist for capital. A convinced advocate of a real, equitable zero and a massive, global carbon removal programme - essentially running the fossil economy in reverse.
Some greens reject CO2 removal outright because they see it as a diversion from the necessary harsh reduction in emissions and replacement of carbon-emitting infrastructure. They say that even thinking about removal lets the emitters off the hook, allows them to continue emitting while pie-in-the-sky removal tech is designed. But Buck's logic is more convincing. If we don't draw down CO2 directly and in enormous amounts we're condemning the poorest and most vulnerable to a miserable, no-growth future as development is foreclosed. Removal must happen.
Fascinating, inspiring, challenging.
I've highlighted all the good bits but Goodreads won't pull in my Kindle notes because the ebook's in a non-Amazon format, which is fantastically annoying!
Not a Panglossian green-tech idealist, not a doom-merchant, not a "la-la-la-la-can't-hear-you" neoliberal applogist for capital. A convinced advocate of a real, equitable zero and a massive, global carbon removal programme - essentially running the fossil economy in reverse.
Some greens reject CO2 removal outright because they see it as a diversion from the necessary harsh reduction in emissions and replacement of carbon-emitting infrastructure. They say that even thinking about removal lets the emitters off the hook, allows them to continue emitting while pie-in-the-sky removal tech is designed. But Buck's logic is more convincing. If we don't draw down CO2 directly and in enormous amounts we're condemning the poorest and most vulnerable to a miserable, no-growth future as development is foreclosed. Removal must happen.
Fascinating, inspiring, challenging.
I've highlighted all the good bits but Goodreads won't pull in my Kindle notes because the ebook's in a non-Amazon format, which is fantastically annoying!
December 31, 2022
Buck argues that we are not on the right track to end the use of fossil fuels and the goal of net zero is not enough. The slogan is popular with lobbyists acting on behalf of the 'hard to decarbonise' industries because it holds out the possibility of a lengthy transition in which hundreds of millions of tons of fossil fuels can continue to be burned. She takes us through all the pitfalls in this approach , among which is the ironic fact that a transitional regime is likely to add to the value of holding reserves of carbon and push up the profits of corporations - exactly the opposite of what is needed.
The way ahead is strewn with difficulties and Buck gives a solid account of each of these in a work that will give little comfort to people who think we can 'just say no'. What is needed is a plan to phase out fossil fuel that undermines the interests of producers, making it more expensive to get the stuff out the ground and less attractive to capitalists seeking the highest returns of their investment. Instead of asking how do we end fossil fuels?' she says we should make 'how do we close down the fossil fuel industry?' to key to action. Ending state subsidies and handing over the production of fossil fuel during the transition period to not-for-profit worker owned industry is part of the answer.
The way ahead is strewn with difficulties and Buck gives a solid account of each of these in a work that will give little comfort to people who think we can 'just say no'. What is needed is a plan to phase out fossil fuel that undermines the interests of producers, making it more expensive to get the stuff out the ground and less attractive to capitalists seeking the highest returns of their investment. Instead of asking how do we end fossil fuels?' she says we should make 'how do we close down the fossil fuel industry?' to key to action. Ending state subsidies and handing over the production of fossil fuel during the transition period to not-for-profit worker owned industry is part of the answer.
April 8, 2022
I appreciated this book because it addresses many of the cre issues that are almost always ignored and hand-waved away.
How do we deal with the fact that a transition to a fully electrified clean energy future resourced from wind and solar will necessitate the use of the equivalent amount of land of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma? How do we engage with communities in rural America?
Just who did come up with this Net Zero imaginary and why did it all of sudden pop up everywhere? How are we actually measuring this Net Zero outcome? What will we do to manage future carbon sinks, like forest, or newly planted groves that act as carbon credits to meet Net Zero goals? How will we track this?
How wil we deal with huge swaths of land that will become removed from use since they are now carbon sinks tied to our Net Zero economy?
How will we monitor Net Zero? Are we inviting an Internet-of-Things dystopian nightmare?
Is Net Zero delaying the immediate need to transition from carbon based energy sources and should we look at more aggressive measures to start that transition?
This book has many great insights and ideas and actionable steps we can all take. Beyond anything we need to broaden our dialogue and we need to embrace many uncomfortable truths heading our way. We need to find a new way to speak, and engage with this transition which entails a new aesthetics, a new social dimension that may be prevented from congealing due to our hyper atomized mode of communication. Is big tech their operating logics and monumentum just too much for us to overcome?
Lots of questions, not a lot of answers. It is imperative we start talking honestly about these issues.
How do we deal with the fact that a transition to a fully electrified clean energy future resourced from wind and solar will necessitate the use of the equivalent amount of land of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma? How do we engage with communities in rural America?
Just who did come up with this Net Zero imaginary and why did it all of sudden pop up everywhere? How are we actually measuring this Net Zero outcome? What will we do to manage future carbon sinks, like forest, or newly planted groves that act as carbon credits to meet Net Zero goals? How will we track this?
How wil we deal with huge swaths of land that will become removed from use since they are now carbon sinks tied to our Net Zero economy?
How will we monitor Net Zero? Are we inviting an Internet-of-Things dystopian nightmare?
Is Net Zero delaying the immediate need to transition from carbon based energy sources and should we look at more aggressive measures to start that transition?
This book has many great insights and ideas and actionable steps we can all take. Beyond anything we need to broaden our dialogue and we need to embrace many uncomfortable truths heading our way. We need to find a new way to speak, and engage with this transition which entails a new aesthetics, a new social dimension that may be prevented from congealing due to our hyper atomized mode of communication. Is big tech their operating logics and monumentum just too much for us to overcome?
Lots of questions, not a lot of answers. It is imperative we start talking honestly about these issues.
June 20, 2025
This book expanded on a lot of ideas I had been developing over the past few years of studying fossil fuels. It focuses on the different sorts of net-zero worlds, and how to combat the rise of fossil fuels. It does however have several faults; the main being that current politics is heading firmly in the oposite direction this book presents.
There are conclusions that seem to reverse a lot of the theory discussed within: the final chapter (Reverse Engineering) explains how both privitised and nationalised fossil fuel companies could undergo extensive CCUS projects to reach net-zero. From the chemical engineering perspective this seems almost a logical fallacy. This technology will never be able to exist as it's simply a marketing term from lobby groups. The conclusion of returning to business-as-usual with more emissions legislation felt like an abandonment of the hopeful outset.
I wanted this book to talk more about Hydrogen. As mentioned in one of the first chapters, power-to-gas-to-power systems involve generating Hydrogen in times of surplus renewable energy periods, and converting it back to power during the night or times of low wind. This is a system I have researched tonnes, and really wanted to learn about some of the impacts this could have in a political counter to fossil fuels, but that wasn't even hinted at.
I learnt a lot from this book, and it has given me so many more questions.
There are conclusions that seem to reverse a lot of the theory discussed within: the final chapter (Reverse Engineering) explains how both privitised and nationalised fossil fuel companies could undergo extensive CCUS projects to reach net-zero. From the chemical engineering perspective this seems almost a logical fallacy. This technology will never be able to exist as it's simply a marketing term from lobby groups. The conclusion of returning to business-as-usual with more emissions legislation felt like an abandonment of the hopeful outset.
I wanted this book to talk more about Hydrogen. As mentioned in one of the first chapters, power-to-gas-to-power systems involve generating Hydrogen in times of surplus renewable energy periods, and converting it back to power during the night or times of low wind. This is a system I have researched tonnes, and really wanted to learn about some of the impacts this could have in a political counter to fossil fuels, but that wasn't even hinted at.
I learnt a lot from this book, and it has given me so many more questions.
December 7, 2021
OK so I have read a number of books looking at the fossil fuel crisis lately and how we're just burning our world and destroying nature and extracting all sorts of resources that are not renewable and I have to admit it's kind of depressing. A lot of these books are either utopian or more focused on trying to get people agitated as a call to action but they all kind of feel as if they're not realistic. However, this new book indeed fossil fuels really feels grounded in reality in a way that a lot of these texts are not. So, I have to definitely give this one a recommendation over some of those other books that have come out daily because it is looking at the facts and the details and it still makes you want to act but it doesn't drown you so if you feel that the future is overwhelming. I still think it's a heavy lift and we're probably going to screw it up, but I think we still have a chance to mitigate some of the worst effects. I really hope we could do it because I'm not super optimistic about the future.
September 16, 2023
This has a really strong premise - net-zero is not enough and we need to directly target and plan for the phasing out of fossil fuels - but it faltered a little bit and I left the book a little unclear what the main point was. The opening chapters on what it would actually take to end fossil fuel production while equalizing energy usage were very helpful as someone not on the technical side. She also helpfully synthesizes the research on fossil fuels as cultural/emotional, and her points about possible backlashes to renewable and the need for a possible politics of grief/loss/ending were really interesting. But then the points about how it's not actually fossil fuels that are bad, it's the social/political systems they enable, and then how nationalization is both not a salve but is possibly necessary as we do need people's control over resources and democracy just became a little tangled. It is a short read but felt a little rushed to press (understandably).
January 29, 2024
Well written, well argued, informative.
This book is perfect for those who want to understand the practical aspects of overcoming the fossil fuel crisis - the why and how of phasing out this sector.
The language is accessible, not idealistic and not particularly radical - so any technocratic uncle can read and struggle to disagree.
For me, this would have been an excellent read 5 years ago, as I was still trying to grasp the challenge ahead of any taking part in climate negotiations.
Right now, I can't help but feel a sadness between the lines of the book - the sadness of not knowing how to actually make progress. The sadness of realizing that the kind of changes proposed require more than good arguments and a few marches to persuade public opinion.
The book serves to persuade aspiring technocrats to the way forward. But the way forward requires more than persuasion.
This book is perfect for those who want to understand the practical aspects of overcoming the fossil fuel crisis - the why and how of phasing out this sector.
The language is accessible, not idealistic and not particularly radical - so any technocratic uncle can read and struggle to disagree.
For me, this would have been an excellent read 5 years ago, as I was still trying to grasp the challenge ahead of any taking part in climate negotiations.
Right now, I can't help but feel a sadness between the lines of the book - the sadness of not knowing how to actually make progress. The sadness of realizing that the kind of changes proposed require more than good arguments and a few marches to persuade public opinion.
The book serves to persuade aspiring technocrats to the way forward. But the way forward requires more than persuasion.
February 11, 2024
The author's capacity to condense information in a clear and succinct way is commendable. The book is concise yet abundant in digestible information. Furthermore, the inclusion of numerous thought experiments throughout the text allows the reader to imagine the different paths that climate politics can take, where they may fail and succeed.
As a very minor qualm, I felt that the chapter on code does not fit the rest of the book, it felt as it had been forced into it. Overall, it is a very accessible, short, and enjoyable book that I will surely recommend to anyone interested in exploring this topic.
As a very minor qualm, I felt that the chapter on code does not fit the rest of the book, it felt as it had been forced into it. Overall, it is a very accessible, short, and enjoyable book that I will surely recommend to anyone interested in exploring this topic.
July 13, 2024
Absolutely loved this book. Very informative and easily understood; it was neither too basic/emotional nor too academic/inaccessible. It gave a great analysis of why we need a planned phase-out of fossil fuels, as well as a variety of strategies that are being and should continue to be used to achieve this. It gave me hope by showing that we do have the tools to combat climate change, while also explaining in a generous and critical manner the issues with these strategies.
November 17, 2022
A very fact heavy book, but does let you know the problems. The book makes it's points about the problems of getting to net zero and more but it's structured very oddly and there are a lot of heavy facts. Definitely not a causal read unless you are really into the subject but definitely makes it's points.
May 2, 2024
A memorable look at the practicalities of phasing out fossil fuels. Part of the reason I liked this was because its suggestions sit above the (huge) party-political boundaries to instituting change and instead explain exactly what that change is. I'd recommend it to anyone wondering about how exactly the climate crisis might be redressed at a macro level.
December 31, 2021
Go read.
January 6, 2022
She stays my favourite climate fight author.
August 10, 2022
A lot of good points regarding the battle against climate change, however felt like sometimes the book would go off on tangents.
December 3, 2022
Finished. Agree.
July 6, 2023
3.5 ⭐
October 4, 2022
Buck is both well informed with her research and also skilled in conveying information. Full disclosure that I read this for a class so I HAD to finish it, however I think I would have read it all the way through anyway. This book serves as a compelling case for carbon sequestering vs just ceasing the output of carbon emissions because it is backed by fact and acknowledges other arguments and perspectives.
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