Humber’s clean energy surplus masks systemic carbon removal dependency: Structural lock-in in UK’s industrial decarbonisation pathway
Original framing: “The Humber region and its cities are a hub for carbon removal – here’s why” — The Conversation - Global
The Humber’s industrial history traces back to the 19th century, when it became a center for coal, steel, and later petrochemicals, all underpinned by colonial resource extraction and labor exploitation. This legacy created a path dependency where decarbonisation is framed as a technical challenge rather than a systemic one, obscuring the need for just transitions that address historical injustices. Similar patterns exist in the Ruhr Valley (Germany) and the Ruhr’s 'carbon valley' myth, where industrial decline is repackaged as a green opportunity without addressing structural inequities.
The Humber’s carbon removal hub exemplifies how technocratic climate narratives obscure structural inequities, framing industrial lock-in as innovation while ignoring the region’s colonial and fossil fuel past.
This narrative serves the interests of fossil fuel incumbents and carbon removal proponents, delaying just transitions and exporting decarbonisation burdens to the Global South. A systemic solution requires dismantling the Humber’s industrial legacy through just transition plans, shifting focus from carbon removal to demand reduction, and addressing global carbon inequality through reparations and Indigenous-led stewardship. The trickster’s insight reveals the absurdity of framing a sacrifice zone as a climate solution, while historical and cross-cultural perspectives underscore the need for reparative justice. Without these shifts, the Humber’s 'clean energy' narrative will perpetuate the very systems it claims to solve.