Stranded assets: then and now

This chapter examines the issue of stranded assets and the likely energy transition from a macro-economic perspective. It discusses why stranded assets can be seen as an opportunity–refreshing capital stocks, reducing pollution, and moving closer to technological frontiers. The chapter looks at how economies change, using the period running up to and after the Industrial Revolution in the UK as a case study in how embracing change can lead to technological and structural transformation and rapid growth and development. It also looks at the historical limitations to resource-based development and the importance of managing change effectively before introducing the risks associated with a more rapid and contagious shift to a low-carbon network, which can leave companies, sectors, and regions caught out with stranded and unproductive assets. The chapter also discusses how the main barriers to yielding the opportunities and limiting the risks from transformative change are mainly institutional and come from vested interests seeking to delay change and propagate inertia.