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Escalation of commitment to fossil fuels

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  • Arbuthnott, Katherine D.
  • Dolter, Brett

Abstract

The use of fossil fuels has been a great boon to human civilization. However, given the issue of climate change, it has become clear that this is a time-limited strategy and that we will at some point need to severely curtail, and perhaps ultimately eliminate, this strategy of meeting our energy needs. Given this long-term perspective, the authors argue that continued public investment in fossil fuel industries and infrastructures reflects escalation of commitment, continued investment in a failing strategy. In this context, this paper reviews the research on escalation of commitment and factors that encourage de-escalation, highlighting strategies that citizens can use to encourage politicians and public administrators to protect long-term civic well-being by shifting investments away from fossil fuel industries.

Suggested Citation

  • Arbuthnott, Katherine D. & Dolter, Brett, 2013. "Escalation of commitment to fossil fuels," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 7-13.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:89:y:2013:i:c:p:7-13
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.02.004
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    6. Rabaa, Simon & Geisendorf, Sylvie & Wilken, Robert, 2022. "Why change does (not) happen: Understanding and overcoming status quo biases in climate change mitigation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 45(1), pages 100-134.
    7. Trinks, Arjan & Scholtens, Bert & Mulder, Machiel & Dam, Lammertjan, 2017. "Divesting Fossil Fuels," Research Report 17001-EEF, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).

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    Keywords

    Escalation of commitment; Sunk cost; Energy investment; Path dependency;
    All these keywords.

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    1. Escalade d'engagement in Wikipedia French

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