In this research, we review the complex policy instruments developed by the European Commission to encourage the adoption of fuel cell trucks powered by renewable hydrogen, as these are expected to contribute to the decarbonization of long haul road freight by 90% by 2050. First, we propose a critical reading of this policy system and uncover three methodological flaws: (1) use of inappropriate boundaries to calculate carbon intensities of hydrogen; (2) reliance on an irrelevant comparator to assess trucking decarbonization and (3) neglect of an important factor, the future growth of road freight. Second, we assess whether policy instruments in their current form are aligned with decarbonization policy objectives by undertaking a carbon emissions lifecycle analysis of renewable hydrogen fuel cell trucks under two supply chain scenarios (locally produced and imported renewable hydrogen) and placing our results in the context of projected road freight growth. Our results suggest that European decarbonization objectives are unlikely to be met with fuel cell trucks and renewable hydrogen under current regulations. We conclude with two corrective policy recommendations.

This article problematizes and investigates the conceptualization of energy that organization scholars use when analyzing damage to the natural environment. Based on a discursive analysis of the energy modelling literature on green hydrogen, we show how the prevailing capitalist/anthropocentric paradigm perpetuates the artificialization of the earth and the instrumentalization of non-human life by emphasizing the decarbonization of energy sources and neglecting destructive energy uses. We argue that concepts from energetics – the study of energy – offers organization scholars a way to analyze environmental destruction from energy technologies without relying on ideology-laden, yet seemingly neutral technical narratives. This contributes to the literature on organizations and sustainability by providing a perspective that can attend to how organizations contribute to mass extinctions as well as climate change. We also contribute to this literature by drawing out the anthropocentrism that underpins policy/industry/energy discourses of decarbonization. Finally, we contribute to the broader societal debate on energy transitions by showing that the twin imperatives of reversing the collapse of life on earth and addressing climate change are best served through a de-growth agenda, no matter the energy source.

The energy transition is still in its infancy yet numerous detrimental socio-ecological consequences have been noted already. Concepts such as green extractivism, green colonialism or green sacrifice zones are commonly applied to renewable energy projects or and related supply chains. Under the guise of climate change mitigation, familiar capitalism-related patterns of state-sponsored dispossession, enclosure of commons and wild ecosystems destruction are replicated – and, this time, mediated by renewable energy technologies such as solar and wind energy collectors. I propose a critical reading of energy transition technologies based on two prominent critical theories of technology, Andrew Feenberg’s critical constructivism and Alf Hornborg’s ecologically unequal exchange. While this reading explains and predicts several of the ill effects noted so far, neither theory addresses the ontological roots of ecological impacts from energy transition technologies. An analysis of renewable energy technologies within the framework of planetary thermodynamics helps bring to light anthropocentrism-related blindspots in both theories. On this basis, I argue that with a more biocentric ontology, or simply more attention and care toward non-humans, ecocidal elements in both design and applications of renewable energy technologies become evident.

The empirical context of this study is the long-standing air pollution issue and related mitigation options in Grenoble, France. The Grenoble metropolitan region is a particularly relevant setting for studying air pollution mitigation: it is widely known for its poor air quality as it lies in a valley between three distinct mountain ranges. This topological situation tends to trap pollutants in the bottom of the valley, creating frequent pollution-related public alerts. Local impacts are well characterized as a recent study estimated air pollution caused 145 premature deaths in Grenoble each year; air pollution sources and their respective health impacts are also well understood, thanks to the regional air pollution observatory and the ongoing work of local researchers. As part of a collaborative survey aiming to understand Grenoble region residents’ knowledge of air pollution and assess the effectiveness of local governments’ ongoing efforts, we manipulate the concreteness and self-relevance of air pollution in a two-by-two between-subjects experiment, and explore the role of techno-solutionism and affinity for sufficiency towards support for technology-based vs. sufficiency-based policy options. As an alternate measure of support, we also include a contingent valuation method and elicit willingness to pay for one’s preferred air pollution mitigation policies.