The Green Frontiers of Capital: Decarbonization as a Market Reset

Authors

  • Jana Tsoneva Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Keywords:

decarbonization, liberalization, European Green Deal, coal

Abstract

This article zooms in on expert pronouncements about the ongoing Green Transition (GT) in the Bulgarian energy sector. Drawing on 26 in-depth interviews, the article shows how decarbonization pundits marshal existing transitological expertise and inscribe the coal phase-out in a generalized market reform. In the process, they build a discursive bridge between decarbonization and liberalization of the energy system, while doubling down on key tenets of the European Green Deal that prioritize private investment in the GT. In the end, decarbonization emerges as a new frontier of capital accumulation, sidelining questions of justice – climatic as well as social.

Author Biography

Jana Tsoneva, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Jana Tsoneva is a sociologist based in Sofia, Bulgaria, and an assistant professor at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Her work focuses on political sociology, the sociology of labor, and the history of ideas, political economy, and ideology. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, where her dissertation explored the Bulgarian middle class and the 2013 protests in Bulgaria. Tsoneva is a founding member of KOI, an activist-research NGO specializing in radical publishing and leftist policy, and a member of the Collective for Social Interventions in Sofia. She is also involved with Social Center Xaspel and the New Left Perspectives collective. Additionally, Tsoneva co-authors Hysterical Parrhesia, a Lacanian-Marxist blog, and has contributed to publications like Jacobin, Al Jazeera, and Lefteast, covering topics such as protests, social justice, and political economy

Published

2025-10-15

How to Cite

Tsoneva, J. . (2025). The Green Frontiers of Capital: Decarbonization as a Market Reset. Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, 1(1), 48-63. Retrieved from http://www.identitiesjournal.edu.mk/index.php/IJPGC/article/view/627

Issue

Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture: Special Issue

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture

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