29 - Resources and Extraction

Summary

Introduction

Ongoing efforts to avert climate change have brought to the fore the complexities of a societal shift to a low-carbon future. The extraction of fossil fuel resources has been instrumental in profound increases in productivity and economic growth but have also largely contributed to anthropogenic climate change. The enforcement of the Paris Agreement and subsequent pledges of net-zero emissions in key industrialized economies have created a momentum for rebasing the energy system from traditional fossil fuels towards renewable sources. This requires rendering ‘unburnable’ part of the existing fossil fuel reserves (McGlade and Ekins, 2015) and mobilizing technologies and resources such as solar, wind, biomass and ‘critical minerals’ in socially useful and economically viable ways.

This chapter looks at the significance of these transformations for economic geographical research using examples from, and insights on, the Asia Pacific – a region that is experiencing dramatic societal transformations in the context of decarbonization, but also one that remains on the fringes of the subdiscipline. This is a serious lacuna given its significance for energy transition: it accounts for half of global carbon emissions and is home to some of the largest fossil fuel producers, consumers and funders in the world. It is also an important geography for renewable energy, given its role in the development and supply of low-carbon resources and technologies (Cao et al, 2018). I first reflect on the relatively recent work on the geographies of energy transition within economic geography, highlighting limitations in its engagement with geographies outside of a few ‘core’ countries and the implications of this spatial bias. I then consider what a more geographically inclusive research agenda might have to offer in understanding the dynamics of energy transition, particularly its spatial and resource constitution and financing. Economic geography research on energy and resources touches on long-running themes within the subdiscipline but also opens new avenues for exploration that could help expand its geographical reach and address existing inadequacies.

Transition beyond the core

Economic geography has historically made important contributions studying the role of resources such as coal, oil and gas in economic growth, resourceled development, and the spatial organization of industries (Roepke, 1955; McNee, 1958) – core themes within the subdiscipline.