POE9 – Transition extractivism and post-fossil coalitions
Florence 25-26 November 2026
The idea of a transition to sustainability has so far been pursued in two main directions. The first, which dominates in academic and political circles, is that of ‘Green Growth’. It is based on the assumption that technological innovation can ensure an effective transition without disrupting the dominant socio-economic order (OECD 2023). However, this assumption fails to take into account how the ecological crisis is profoundly influencing the configuration of the global economy as a system open to the circulation of innovation and goods, and how the promise of technology comes up against three limits, two of which are certain – the rebound effect (Jevons) and the accumulation effect (Fressoz 2025) – and the third of which is inferential – secular stagnation in the face of the absence of the kind of innovations that Nicolas Georgescu-Roegen termed ‘Promethean’, i.e. capable of making a difference in terms of energy efficiency (Bonaiuti 2018), masked by a succession of technological hypes, from GMOs to ICT (whether the trajectory of AI will be different remains to be seen: what is evident are its ecological and employment impacts, as well as its effects on financial and political power).
The second guiding principle is that of Post-Growth (Kallis et al. 2025). It is based on the assumption that only an absolute reduction in the extraction and processing of resources can hope to yield any results, and it posits that such a reduction requires a substantial rethinking of the notion of well-being and, with it, of fundamental aspects of the social order based on unlimited growth. This hypothesis has been significantly developed in recent years, but its operationalisation remains incomplete, particularly with regard to the stages involved, the social forces that should promote it, and the relationship between the market and planning (Schmelzer & Hofferbert 2023). These are not details that can be resolved simply by zooming out from the micro-level of successful ‘prefigurative’ experiences to the macro-level of social reorganisation, all the more so in the context of a reaffirmation of the conflict between state blocs rather than between social blocs.
Furthermore, in both cases, the implications of phasing out or scaling back fossil fuels are scarcely addressed. On the one hand, there is support for a very gradual transition, mediated by the market and governed by the major players in energy, logistics and data. On the other, there is a push for an accelerated process accompanied by a reconfiguration of energy networks and applications. However, the conflicts emerging in relation to the post-fossil transition indicate that the issue of the unequal distribution of burdens and benefits remains at the forefront, albeit in new forms concerning the extraction and energy efficiency aspects of renewables, the environmental and employment impacts of the transition, and the growing fragmentation caused by increasingly widespread identity-based divisions. The problem, in other words, is that the post-fossil transition is creating new fault lines which not only jeopardise its chances of success but also encourage the further consolidation of an increasingly authoritarian form of capitalism, which sees in it new opportunities to extract value and weaken opposing or, at any rate, critical forces. The question is what the response from these forces might be: what form it might take, and at what social level; what sort of coalitions should be promoted or are in fact emerging in this regard.
POE9, scheduled for 25–26 November 2026, aims to discuss this theme on the basis of two main presentations, delivered by Bertie Russell, co-author of Radical Abundance: How to Win a Green Democratic Future (2025) and Anne Tittor, author of essays on the implications of decarbonisation (Tittor 2026), which will be discussed in the first part of the workshop (the afternoon of 25 November). The second part (morning of 26 November) will be open to a multi-voiced discussion, featuring theoretical or empirical research contributions on a variety of topics (national or European policies, local or industrial conflicts, emerging coalitions at various territorial levels, etc.). Anyone interested in proposing a contribution is invited to submit an abstract in English (300 words max) by 31 August 2026 to luigi.pellizzoni@sns.it.
Around ten contributions will be accepted.
References
Bonaiuti M (2018) Are we entering the age of involuntary degrowth? Promethean technologies and declining returns of innovation. Journal of Cleaner Production 197: 1800-1809
Fressoz J.-B. (2025) More and more and more. An all consuming history. London: Penguin.
Heron K, Milburn K, Russell B (2025) Radical Abundance: How to Win a Green Democratic Future. London: Pluto.
Kallis G, Hickel J, O’Neill DW, Jackson T, Victor PA, Raworth K, Schor JB, Steinberger JK, Ürge-Vorsatz D (2025) Post-growth: the science of wellbeing within planetary boundaries. Lancet
Planet Health 9(1):e62–e78.
OECD (2023) What is green growth and how can it help deliver sustainable development? Paris: OECD.
Schmelzer, M, Hofferberth E (2023) Democratic Planning for Degrowth. Monthly Review 75(3).
Tittor A (2026) Postfossil extractivism. A new lens on decarbonization’s land and material intensity.Journal of Peasant Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2025.2606878