Fuels manufactured through chemical processes—electrofuels, hydrogen, synfuels—as alternatives to fossil fuels. Synthetic fuels are often presented as carbon‑neutral solutions that allow existing infrastructure to continue without emissions. Critics argue they require enormous energy inputs, perpetuate the car‑centric model, and serve as a technological delay tactic to avoid systemic change. The term captures the tension between technological substitution and genuine transformation: synthetic fuels may reduce emissions, but they don't reduce the logic of extraction.
Example: "The airline celebrated synthetic jet fuel as sustainable—synthetic fuels, keeping the planes flying while postponing the harder question of whether mass aviation is compatible with a livable planet."
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 26, 2026
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