Power, agency, and equity in decarbonization

Abstract

This dissertation explores the political-economic, social, and cultural dynamics of coal plant closures and the emergent grassroots movement to facilitate a just transition for workers and communities who are disproportionately burdened by shifting energy economies. In the last few decades, the United States has seen a steady and significant decline in both coal production and consumption due to the decreasing cost of natural gas and increasingly stringent environmental regulations. Concurrently, national, state, and municipal governments are passing progressively ambitious climate policies and ramping up investment in renewables and energy efficiency. This historic transition's effects on labor markets, local economies, land-use patterns, and energy resource distribution raise important questions related to power, agency, and social equity. Employing a multi-scalar approach, this project includes a comparative case study of two municipalities in Massachusetts that have recently experienced coal plant closures to investigate the local politics of decarbonization, as well an analysis of the nationwide movement for a just transition in the United States. My analysis: 1) identifies political-economic and sociocultural obstacles to just and equitable decarbonization processes/outcomes, 2) demonstrates the effect of local context upon community response to coal plant closures and redevelopment politics, and 3) illuminates the political strengths and tensions of the growing movement for a just transition. Theoretically, this project builds on the work of scholars in disciplines such as political science, geography, science and technology studies, and public policy by applying a critical, sociological lens to the energy transition. More specifically, I draw from and contribute to the subfields of political economy, environmental justice, culture, and social movements. This dissertation is comprised of three empirical papers. The first paper is an in-depth case study of Somerset, Massachusetts-a small town that has experienced two coal plant closures within the past nine years. My analytic approach integrates literature on the political economy of energy transitions, as well as sociological literature on community identity and quiescence, as diagnostic theoretical tools to identify barriers to a just transition. I conducted in- depth interviews (n=26) with community members (activists and non-activists), regional environmental NGOs, local and state government officials, former plant workers, and an industry representative; attended town hall meetings and private meetings among activists as a participant observer; and analyzed the content of all publicly available redevelopment planning documents (reuse studies, health reports), local and regional news articles, and conversations on community social media platforms. Ultimately, I argue that while a lack of policy support, private property regimes, and economic dependency on private capital serve as significant obstacles to local control over redevelopment planning and workforce retraining in Somerset, a disempowered and depoliticized civic culture also inhibits the growth of grassroots political power in support of a just and sustainable transition. The second paper examines the mediating influence of local history, culture, geography, and politics upon community response to coal plant closures through a comparative case study of Somerset and Holyoke, Massachusetts. My analysis decenters the internal dynamics of the grassroots movements in these communities, and instead focuses on contextual forces that impact the outcomes of contentious decarbonization politics. I conducted 41 in-depth interviews with community members (activists and non-activists), regional environmental NGOs, local and state government officials, former plant workers, and private industry representatives; attended town hall meetings and private meetings among activists as a participant observer; and analyzed the content of all publicly available redevelopment planning documents (reuse studies, health reports), local and regional news articles, and conversations on community social media platforms. Ultimately, I argue that key differences in industrial history and community economic identity, local geography, and political and industrial opportunity structures played a formative role in shaping divergent transition trajectories in these two post-coal communities. Finally, the third paper examines the emergent, nationwide movement for a just transition (JT). Through an analysis of 13 in-depth interviews with individuals in labor organizations, grassroots community/environmental justice organizations, environmental NGOs, and think tanks around the country, in addition to extensive content analysis of both primary and secondary textual and video sources, the paper: 1) clarifies the core claims and principles of the JT framework as presently articulated by activists and social movement organizations, 2) demonstrates how the framework has evolved and expanded through its adoption by multiple different social movements, 3) identifies inter-movement tensions, and 4) discusses JT organizing in relation to the existing literature on master frames, theories of justice, and social movement spillover or fusion. In the interest of making this research relevant to policy practitioners and activists, I conclude with a chapter that synthesizes common findings across the three empirical papers, highlighting key policy implications and lessons for activists within the context of the newly proposed Green New Deal.--Author's abstract