Degrowing a synthetic world: A critical realist perspective on petrochemical transformation

To contain the triple planetary crises associated with fossil-based plastics and chemicals, numerous actors, including a wide range of states, call for a downscaling of primary plastic production. In this light, a material degrowth of the production of plastics and plastic chemicals appears not only ecologically imperative but also within grasp politically. In this paper, I examine the deep-seated challenges that this apparent possibility faces. Drawing on central tenets of critical realist philosophy, I discuss the prospects of a degrowth transformation of the petrochemical industry. By informing the analysis with critical realism, I bring into focus structures that simultaneously guide and extend beyond sectoral developments and which are not undone by capping petrochemical production globally, qualifying the pursuit of material degrowth on a sector-by-sector basis.