"More and more and more: an all-consuming history"

History shows that despite technological innovations, raw materials do not become obsolete. In the last two centuries, a greater variety of raw materials have been used, and most of them in increasing quantities. Technological progress and enormous gains in energy efficiency have been offset by even greater rebound effects. To explain the simultaneous growth in the use of almost every raw material, this presentation introduces the notion of “symbiotic effect.” As materials and primary energies play complementary roles in the production system, they tend to grow together, supporting each other. For the time being, substitution dynamics have been offset by rebound and symbiotic effects. The presentation concludes that these effects are still at play today, and make it unlikely that global temperature will stabilise in the 21st century.

Jean-Baptiste Fressoz is author of More, more and more: an all-consuming history (Penguin 2024). He is a historian of science and technology, previously at Imperial College London, now based in Paris at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique