Energy Transitions in the History of Economic Thought (19th-20th c.)

The ETRANHET project, funded by the European Research Council within the ERC Starting Grant framework (2022-27), is based on a threefold observation: (1) the urgency of climate change is confronted with persistent difficulties in coordinating international public action, (2) the production of energy is responsible for three quarters of greenhouse gas emissions, and (3) economists, and the economic discipline, seem to play a critical role in public policy (including energy policy). To understand the current energy situation, and find ways out of the climate crisis, ETRANHET’s purpose is to dig into the history of energy economics and analyse the role of economists, and of the economic discipline, in shaping the past and present representations of energy (and energy policies), all around the world.

ETRANHET therefore consists in writing the first ever history of energy transitions in economic thought, at a global scale (five market-economy contexts: Continental Western Europe, the British Isles, North America, Latin America, Japan + secondary areas in Central Asia, Oceania and Africa), to analyse past economists’ views of energy, their role in public policy, and the lessons to be learned. The notion of ‘transition’ may raise questions, as historians have shown that energy sources have been accumulating until now, without true substitution effects. It seems, however, that talking about ‘addition’ rather than ‘transition’ does not call into question the existence of important technical, economic, social, cultural and political changes brought about by the evolution of energy regimes, requiring attention through the lens of past economic proposals.

ETRANHET is a multidisciplinary project mobilising historiographical and science studies methods to study past economists and economic thinking. The preferred approach will be an internal analysis of economic concepts, theories, models and tools, to contribute both to the history of economic thought and to contemporary economic analysis. In addition, for specific work packages, expertise in economic and energy history, cultural studies, comparative methods and STS will also be called upon.

ETRANHET will be supported by archival research (essentially for drafts, notes and correspondence), with the creation of electronic repositories, making new valuable material available to historians. Digital humanities will be key, including lexicographic analysis and the development of tools for the analysis of handwritten materials. 

By taking a fresh look at today’s challenges in relation to the low-carbon transition, ETRANHET will contribute to show that the history of economic thought, and more broadly the history of ideas, have a role to play in contemporary economic research and sustainability debates.