Pipe dreams and power struggles : a case study of political discourse and first-hand experiences of the Baltic Pipe Project in Denmark

Abstract: At this pivotal point in history where we must drastically cut global green house gas emissions to curb the brunt of the climate crisis, fossil fuel infrastructure expansion continues to be prioritized by industry and governing institutions. This study examines one such initiative, namely the Baltic Pipe Project, which will transport natural gas from Norway, through Denmark to Poland. Situated in a predominantly Danish context, this qualitative case study engages a political ecology lens to focus on arguments for the project by former Minister of Climate, Energy, and Utilities Lars Christian Lilleholt, as well as semi-structured interviews with Danes who are locally affected by the construction of the pipeline. After a critical discourse analysis and critical thematic analysis of the two bodies of data, respectively, I have problematized the incentive and consequences of Baltic Pipe by identifying Lilleholt’s discursive naturalization of gas as a bridging fuel, his dehumanization of Poland and Danish locals’ roles, and use of temporal scales to subsume environment into a capitalist economic agenda. These critiques are supplemented by the interviewees’ accounts of the project developer’s disproportionate focus on economic gains and competition, and their unfair treatment and compensation. These findings indicate that the Baltic Pipe Project is based on and will further perpetuate a system of fossil capitalism and carbon lock-in.