A Fossilized Imaginary? Our Economic Representations of Energy at the Challenge of the Low-Carbon Transition[Un imaginaire fossilisé ? Les représentations économiques de l'énergie au défi de la transition bas-carbone]

The energy transition towards a low-carbon regime is a critical challenge for the 21st century. It is not only a matter of techniques, but also of social organization and cultural representations. This article explores how the ordinary economic representations of energy have been developed since the 19th century, and how they have influenced public decision-making. Through the examples of forecasting and of the distinction renewable vs. exhaustible resources, this article suggests that path dependencies still weight upon those views. When thinking about the low-carbon transition, getting out of these dependencies seems essential.