Riskscapes, politics of scaling and climate change: Towards the post-carbon society?

Abstract

The concept of riskscapes has so far not embraced the concept of scale in any deeper sense. A conceptual integration of scale is needed, however, when dealing with the diversity of risks involved in opposing economic and environmental rationalities. Drawing on research conducted in a German coal-mining area, the article shows how the risk of regional economic decline and the risk of global climate change are pitted against each other. The article explores this 'politics of scaling' that lead to a reconfiguration of the coal riskscape, including a tentative step towards decarbonising German energy production.