Industrial decarbonization

Industrial decarbonization refers to decarbonizing the industrial sector through approaches like electrification, hydrogen, or carbon capture; the Department of Energy published an industrial decarbonization roadmap.

When it comes to social science on industrial decarbonization, the National Academies hosted a 2024 workshop, Developing and Assessing Ideas for Social and Behavioral Research to Speed Efficient and Equitable Industrial Decarbonization with commissioned papers and presentations.

Scholars like Benjamin Sovacool and Patrick Devine-Wright have published recent social science works on industrial decarbonization. Critical social scientists have also studied the political ecology of fertilizer, and think tanks have analyzed the political economy of decarbonizing steel production. Much of the social science and social dimensions writing on industrial decarbonization focuses not on industrial decarbonization as a goal, but on particular technological approaches like hydrogen and carbon management, which many climate and environmental justice advocates have raised serious concerns about.