Progress in economic geography? Decarbonising Global Production Networks (GPNs)

Abstract

In this short paper we consider the potential for global production network (GPN) thinking to elucidate the fundamental challenge of decarbonising the global economy. We make two points in this regard. First, we posit that GPN thinking offers the potential for analytical precision in terms of delineating individual GPNs and the ways in which they intersect and aggregate, an important step in developing meaningful analyses of decarbonisation efforts. Second, we explore the heterogeneous materiality of production and consider its implications for the calculability of decarbonisation. We argue that GPN analysis must refine its existing tools and develop new ones to play an important role in analyzing the necessary decarbonisation of the global economy, in turn enhancing economic geography's relevance in the context of the ongoing climate crisis.