Pub Date : 2025-01-08DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2024.101610
Phil Johnstone , Janset Nil Genç
There is an expected acceleration of some mining activities to supply the materials underpinning renewable and digital transitions. In this context, the question of what a sustainable mining system might look like is increasingly discussed. We outline a rules-based perspective from the Deep Transitions Lab focussed on assessing sociotechnical system change in mining. Based on our experience engaging with financial investors, we argue that a rule-based methodology can be an important tool to stimulate thinking about more radical change in the directionality of the mining system, helping shift conversations towards addressing persistent features of unsustainability that require system change interventions rather than optimisation. The rule mapping tool can challenge existing practices and stimulate imaginative thinking about what a sustainable mining system might look like.
{"title":"Towards system change in mining? Rule maps for discussing sustainable futures","authors":"Phil Johnstone , Janset Nil Genç","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101610","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101610","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There is an expected acceleration of some mining activities to supply the materials underpinning renewable and digital transitions. In this context, the question of what a sustainable mining system might look like is increasingly discussed. We outline a rules-based perspective from the Deep Transitions Lab focussed on assessing sociotechnical system change in mining. Based on our experience engaging with financial investors, we argue that a rule-based methodology can be an important tool to stimulate thinking about more radical change in the directionality of the mining system, helping shift conversations towards addressing persistent features of unsustainability that require system change interventions rather than optimisation. The rule mapping tool can challenge existing practices and stimulate imaginative thinking about what a sustainable mining system might look like.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101610"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study engages the discourse of ‘eminent domain’ – the power of the state to expropriate communally or individually owned properties for ‘public good’ – as it applies in the mineral extractive sector in resource-rich countries, such as South Africa. It is argued that the use of the ‘eminent domain’ principle in the acquisition of land and allocation of mining rights reinforces the notion of the ‘supreme state’. The entrenchment of this idea advances ‘the single metric model’ in which one stakeholder's voice is heard at the expense of other stakeholders. This hierarchical framework privileges the state and the licensed mining companies and excludes resource-rich communities and other egalitarian structures. It is against this backdrop that this study makes a case for the deconstruction of a ‘single-actor resource ownership’ model in South Africa. Using data collected through qualitative instruments, the study concluded that the ‘single metric’ approach, in which the state enforces its agency over the other stakeholders, is rooted in its understanding of ‘rights and sovereignty’ over land and mineral resource ownership in South Africa. This strikes at the centre of a developing conflict among the stakeholders in the uranium-rich community. Therefore, the disaggregation of the current unconstructive policy space dominated by the hierarchic state to one which accommodates diverse views and voices of other stakeholders will create a multi-metric, pluralistic and democratic environment where the ‘public-use principle’ in essence does not exclude the public.
{"title":"Deconstructing a single-actor resource ownership model: A study of the proposed uranium mining in the karoo region of South Africa","authors":"Moshood Issah , Lanre Abdul-Rasheed Sulaiman , Fatima Aliu , Abdullateef Raji , Ridwan Olabisi Yusuff , Salihu Zakariyyah Abdulbaqi , Sunday Joseph Akor , Ojogiwa T. Oluwaseun","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101609","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101609","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study engages the discourse of ‘eminent domain’ – the power of the state to expropriate communally or individually owned properties for ‘public good’ – as it applies in the mineral extractive sector in resource-rich countries, such as South Africa. It is argued that the use of the ‘eminent domain’ principle in the acquisition of land and allocation of mining rights reinforces the notion of the ‘supreme state’. The entrenchment of this idea advances ‘the single metric model’ in which one stakeholder's voice is heard at the expense of other stakeholders. This hierarchical framework privileges the state and the licensed mining companies and excludes resource-rich communities and other egalitarian structures. It is against this backdrop that this study makes a case for the deconstruction of a ‘single-actor resource ownership’ model in South Africa. Using data collected through qualitative instruments, the study concluded that the ‘single metric’ approach, in which the state enforces its agency over the other stakeholders, is rooted in its understanding of ‘rights and sovereignty’ over land and mineral resource ownership in South Africa. This strikes at the centre of a developing conflict among the stakeholders in the uranium-rich community. Therefore, the disaggregation of the current unconstructive policy space dominated by the hierarchic state to one which accommodates diverse views and voices of other stakeholders will create a multi-metric, pluralistic and democratic environment where the ‘public-use principle’ in essence does not exclude the public.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101609"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-03DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2024.101608
Emmanuel K. Manu , Simplice A. Asongu
The paper assesses the role of environmental policy, technological innovations, digitalisation, and natural resources management across 29 Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) countries from 1999 to 2022. The findings are contingent on various econometric approaches that account for cross-sectional dependencies, notably: PVAR-GMM, Granger causality and Quantile Regressions. The findings show that stringent environmental policies in resource-rich countries positively influence natural resource management practices. However, in resource-poor countries, the impact of such policies is less significant. Moreover, the results show that technological innovations, particularly in digital infrastructure, can strengthen resource management practices across both resource-rich and resource-poor countries in SSA. In resource-rich nations, fostering the development of digitalisation, marked by increased fixed broadband subscriptions and digital infrastructure, correlates with more effective resource management. Conversely, the impact of digital advancement on resource management practices in resource-poor countries appears to be less pronounced, indicating potential challenges in leveraging digital technologies for resource management in these contexts. These findings underline the importance of sustainable resource management in promoting long-term economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability across SSA. Policy implications are discussed.
{"title":"The impact of environmental policy, technological innovations, and digitalisation: Does context matter in natural resource management in Sub-Sahara Africa?","authors":"Emmanuel K. Manu , Simplice A. Asongu","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101608","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101608","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The paper assesses the role of environmental policy, technological innovations, digitalisation, and natural resources management across 29 Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) countries from 1999 to 2022. The findings are contingent on various econometric approaches that account for cross-sectional dependencies, notably: PVAR-GMM, Granger causality and Quantile Regressions. The findings show that stringent environmental policies in resource-rich countries positively influence natural resource management practices. However, in resource-poor countries, the impact of such policies is less significant. Moreover, the results show that technological innovations, particularly in digital infrastructure, can strengthen resource management practices across both resource-rich and resource-poor countries in SSA. In resource-rich nations, fostering the development of digitalisation, marked by increased fixed broadband subscriptions and digital infrastructure, correlates with more effective resource management. Conversely, the impact of digital advancement on resource management practices in resource-poor countries appears to be less pronounced, indicating potential challenges in leveraging digital technologies for resource management in these contexts. These findings underline the importance of sustainable resource management in promoting long-term economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability across SSA. Policy implications are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101608"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-31DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2024.101606
Michael A. Toman, Douglas R. Bohi
China's large market share in producing and processing many “critical minerals” has provoked much discussion around “mineral security” for the United States. We examine that issue through the lens of prior research on international oil insecurity. Oil security analysis focused on targeted supply cuts, the negative impacts of supplier market power, and economic burdens from oil price jumps (none of which turned out to be an issue). Broadly similar concerns arise regarding critical mineral security, but how justified are those concerns? We conclude that targeted supply cuts for critical minerals do not appear to be a major concern; and trying to suppress price volatility is likely to be mostly ineffectual and costly. China previously has raised export prices over domestic prices for some critical minerals, and it remains to be seen if they would undertake similar use of market power in the future. The scale of sunk costs required to ameliorate that uncertainty through critical mineral processing investment outside China will be substantial, and the tradeoffs in doing so require careful consideration.
{"title":"“Mineral security” policies: Insights from oil markets","authors":"Michael A. Toman, Douglas R. Bohi","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101606","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101606","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>China's large market share in producing and processing many “critical minerals” has provoked much discussion around “mineral security” for the United States. We examine that issue through the lens of prior research on international oil insecurity. Oil security analysis focused on targeted supply cuts, the negative impacts of supplier market power, and economic burdens from oil price jumps (none of which turned out to be an issue). Broadly similar concerns arise regarding critical mineral security, but how justified are those concerns? We conclude that targeted supply cuts for critical minerals do not appear to be a major concern; and trying to suppress price volatility is likely to be mostly ineffectual and costly. China previously has raised export prices over domestic prices for some critical minerals, and it remains to be seen if they would undertake similar use of market power in the future. The scale of sunk costs required to ameliorate that uncertainty through critical mineral processing investment outside China will be substantial, and the tradeoffs in doing so require careful consideration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101606"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-27DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2024.101602
Yuanguo Li , Muhammad Umair , Shafa Guliyeva , Zibeyda Shakaraliyeva
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) sets the benchmark for income transparency across 50 nations, operating on the premise that adherence to the initiative enhances transparency and mitigates corruption within member governments. However, individual case studies have raised doubts about the initiative's effectiveness. This study examines the impact of EITI membership on transparency and corruption levels from 2010 to 2023, drawing on existing research on compliance and governance. Using interrupted time series and panel data analysis, the study demonstrates that EITI membership significantly improved overall aggregate data disclosure in member nations during this period. Simultaneously, the findings suggest that perceptions of corruption remained unchanged. This outcome challenges the efficacy of advocating a narrow interpretation of transparency in the extractive sectors as a means of addressing corruption. The results highlight the need for a more comprehensive approach to transparency, particularly to differentiate between regimes using transparency measures for public relations and those genuinely committed to systemic reform.
{"title":"The extractive industries transparency initiative: Achieving disclosure, but falling short on corruption reduction","authors":"Yuanguo Li , Muhammad Umair , Shafa Guliyeva , Zibeyda Shakaraliyeva","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101602","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101602","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) sets the benchmark for income transparency across 50 nations, operating on the premise that adherence to the initiative enhances transparency and mitigates corruption within member governments. However, individual case studies have raised doubts about the initiative's effectiveness. This study examines the impact of EITI membership on transparency and corruption levels from 2010 to 2023, drawing on existing research on compliance and governance. Using interrupted time series and panel data analysis, the study demonstrates that EITI membership significantly improved overall aggregate data disclosure in member nations during this period. Simultaneously, the findings suggest that perceptions of corruption remained unchanged. This outcome challenges the efficacy of advocating a narrow interpretation of transparency in the extractive sectors as a means of addressing corruption. The results highlight the need for a more comprehensive approach to transparency, particularly to differentiate between regimes using transparency measures for public relations and those genuinely committed to systemic reform.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101602"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-26DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2024.101605
Glen Biglaiser , Kelan (Lilly) Lu , Lance Y. Hunter
Scholarship has reached different conclusions regarding the relationship between host-state terrorism and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. While most studies identify a negative (or no) relationship between terrorism and FDI, a few find a positive association. Terrorism is connected to increased political risk, so we might expect states under terrorism to attract less FDI and especially in riskier economic sectors, such as extractive industries, because of their immobility and greater upfront capital costs. Using panel data for up to 107 developing countries from 2004-2018, this paper investigates the relationship between host-state terrorism and sectoral FDI. We compare the United States and Chinese overseas FDI in the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors and find that U.S. firms are more risk averse and Chinese firms are more risk acceptant and markedly in the extractive industries. Our research provides clues for why the terrorism and FDI literature have obtained such different results.
{"title":"Political Risk and Sectoral Analysis: Foreign Direct Investment, Terrorism, and Extractive Industries in the Developing World","authors":"Glen Biglaiser , Kelan (Lilly) Lu , Lance Y. Hunter","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101605","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101605","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Scholarship has reached different conclusions regarding the relationship between host-state terrorism and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. While most studies identify a negative (or no) relationship between terrorism and FDI, a few find a positive association. Terrorism is connected to increased political risk, so we might expect states under terrorism to attract less FDI and especially in riskier economic sectors, such as extractive industries, because of their immobility and greater upfront capital costs. Using panel data for up to 107 developing countries from 2004-2018, this paper investigates the relationship between host-state terrorism and sectoral FDI. We compare the United States and Chinese overseas FDI in the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors and find that U.S. firms are more risk averse and Chinese firms are more risk acceptant and markedly in the extractive industries. Our research provides clues for why the terrorism and FDI literature have obtained such different results.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101605"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-24DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2024.101604
Roy Maconachie , Felix Marco Conteh
In mineral-rich regions of Sierra Leone, the diversification of livelihood portfolios is widespread, and rural communities have long pursued complex and dynamic strategies that involve the intertwining of mining and farming activities. In recent years, however, alluvial diamond deposits in the Eastern District of Kono have increasingly become ‘worked out’, and artisanal mining communities have had to adapt and demonstrate resilience. Building on a rich body of field-based research that the authors have carried out over the past 20 years, this paper critically explores both the constraints and opportunities that are currently shaping youth resourcefulness and self-reliance, as well as the government's policy response to rapidly changing conditions in mining communities. It argues that although it remains the case that artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operations continue to dovetail with a wide range of other livelihood activities, they are fast becoming the alternative, as miners shift to other forms of livelihoods, including agriculture. This shift, the paper argues, is however not a smooth process, as miners making the transition are faced with a myriad of challenges including lack of access to finance and agricultural inputs. As a result, communities are ‘stuck’ in transition despite a renewed interest in farming driven by a parallel resurgence of associational life in rural areas. While the problem of youth marginalisation and unemployment in Kono have long received considerable attention from both the government and civil society, whether or not the evolving policy response is able to keep up with the current rapid pace of change in artisanal mining communities remains open to question.
{"title":"Stuck in transition? Artisanal mining, livelihood diversification and rural change in Sierra Leone","authors":"Roy Maconachie , Felix Marco Conteh","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101604","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101604","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In mineral-rich regions of Sierra Leone, the diversification of livelihood portfolios is widespread, and rural communities have long pursued complex and dynamic strategies that involve the intertwining of mining and farming activities. In recent years, however, alluvial diamond deposits in the Eastern District of Kono have increasingly become ‘worked out’, and artisanal mining communities have had to adapt and demonstrate resilience. Building on a rich body of field-based research that the authors have carried out over the past 20 years, this paper critically explores both the constraints and opportunities that are currently shaping youth resourcefulness and self-reliance, as well as the government's policy response to rapidly changing conditions in mining communities. It argues that although it remains the case that artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operations continue to dovetail with a wide range of other livelihood activities, they are fast becoming the alternative, as miners shift to other forms of livelihoods, including agriculture. This shift, the paper argues, is however not a smooth process, as miners making the transition are faced with a myriad of challenges including lack of access to finance and agricultural inputs. As a result, communities are ‘stuck’ in transition despite a renewed interest in farming driven by a parallel resurgence of associational life in rural areas. While the problem of youth marginalisation and unemployment in Kono have long received considerable attention from both the government and civil society, whether or not the evolving policy response is able to keep up with the current rapid pace of change in artisanal mining communities remains open to question.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101604"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-19DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2024.101603
Han Ding , Jianping Ge
The rapid development of clean energy technologies will significantly increase the demand for rare earth elements (REEs). REEs such as dysprosium, terbium, praseodymium, and neodymium play an irreplaceable role in clean energy technologies like wind power equipment and electric vehicles. China is an important country for the supply of rare earths. Consequently, assessing China's supply potential and future trends of critical REEs is imperative. Considering the resource reserves, historical supply and the production characteristics of rare earth elements, we incorporated the parameter optimization algorithms into the multicyclic Generalized Weng model to obtain the production of critical REEs in China and quantify the supply potential. Our findings indicate that the supply potential of dysprosium peaks in 2030 at 15,900 tons (rare earth oxide equivalent), while terbium peaks in 2041 at 7,641 tons. Additionally, praseodymium will reach 7,606 tons in 2060 and neodymium will reach 33,560 tons in 2060, with peaks occurring after 2060. Compared with actual demand, it is found that there will be a supply shortage of dysprosium, neodymium, and praseodymium elements, and terbium will also face insufficient supply under high-demand scenarios. Based on these findings, policy recommendations are proposed to enhance REEs’ supply capabilities.
{"title":"Towards clean energy technologies: Assessing the supply potential of critical rare earth elements in China","authors":"Han Ding , Jianping Ge","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101603","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101603","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid development of clean energy technologies will significantly increase the demand for rare earth elements (REEs). REEs such as dysprosium, terbium, praseodymium, and neodymium play an irreplaceable role in clean energy technologies like wind power equipment and electric vehicles. China is an important country for the supply of rare earths. Consequently, assessing China's supply potential and future trends of critical REEs is imperative. Considering the resource reserves, historical supply and the production characteristics of rare earth elements, we incorporated the parameter optimization algorithms into the multicyclic Generalized Weng model to obtain the production of critical REEs in China and quantify the supply potential. Our findings indicate that the supply potential of dysprosium peaks in 2030 at 15,900 tons (rare earth oxide equivalent), while terbium peaks in 2041 at 7,641 tons. Additionally, praseodymium will reach 7,606 tons in 2060 and neodymium will reach 33,560 tons in 2060, with peaks occurring after 2060. Compared with actual demand, it is found that there will be a supply shortage of dysprosium, neodymium, and praseodymium elements, and terbium will also face insufficient supply under high-demand scenarios. Based on these findings, policy recommendations are proposed to enhance REEs’ supply capabilities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101603"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-17DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2024.101592
Teea Kortetmäki , Suvi Huttunen , Marja Järvelä , Anni Turunen
Just low-carbon transition raises pressing questions about the fate of workers in different industries and regions. Industrial decarbonization will influence job availability, quality, and regional economic structures even where industries are not foreseen to phase out. Yet, labour-oriented just transition studies have so far focused on fossil fuel industries neglecting other energy-intensive industries. This qualitative research article focuses on energy-intensive industries in four industrially significant localities in Finland. These industries are expected to undergo significant changes in their energy-intensive production processes. The article examines industrial workers’ work and employment related perceptions concerning decarbonization, climate policies, and worker-level and regional capacities to transform vis-à-vis vulnerability under decarbonization. The findings reveal that just transition appears not only as a regional but also as an intra-factory and worker-level challenge, requiring comprehensive addressing by multiple actors. Differing regional characteristics and companies’ decarbonization strategies link to different perceptions about transition prospects and related justice concerns. While some solutions suggested by workers are shared across all studied contexts, others relate to region- or industry-specific factors or socially vulnerable worker groups needing more support. The results also call for reassessing the relationship between public and private sector regarding their responsibilities for just transition.
{"title":"Industrial workers’ perceptions on just transition and work in four Finnish regions: Three-level solutions","authors":"Teea Kortetmäki , Suvi Huttunen , Marja Järvelä , Anni Turunen","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101592","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101592","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Just low-carbon transition raises pressing questions about the fate of workers in different industries and regions. Industrial decarbonization will influence job availability, quality, and regional economic structures even where industries are not foreseen to phase out. Yet, labour-oriented just transition studies have so far focused on fossil fuel industries neglecting other energy-intensive industries. This qualitative research article focuses on energy-intensive industries in four industrially significant localities in Finland. These industries are expected to undergo significant changes in their energy-intensive production processes. The article examines industrial workers’ work and employment related perceptions concerning decarbonization, climate policies, and worker-level and regional capacities to transform vis-à-vis vulnerability under decarbonization. The findings reveal that just transition appears not only as a regional but also as an intra-factory and worker-level challenge, requiring comprehensive addressing by multiple actors. Differing regional characteristics and companies’ decarbonization strategies link to different perceptions about transition prospects and related justice concerns. While some solutions suggested by workers are shared across all studied contexts, others relate to region- or industry-specific factors or socially vulnerable worker groups needing more support. The results also call for reassessing the relationship between public and private sector regarding their responsibilities for just transition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101592"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-12DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2024.101601
Tobias Tseer , Frederick Ngmenkpieo , Agape Kanyiri Damwah
Contemporary studies on informal mining have often referred to the economic positives without much focus on the social benefits of it particularly relating to educational financing for youths in mining areas. This study contributes to this discourse by connecting educational attainment and informal mining among youths in the Nabdam District of Northeastern Ghana. The study relied on insights from individual interviews and focus group discussions with 62 participants who were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling techniques to explore how informal mining affect educational activities in the Nabdam District. The analysis of the collected data revealed that informal mining help miners to finance the educational continuity of their relatives while student miners self-finance their education from mining proceeds. On the negatives, we found that miners who are students share their time between schooling and miming affecting school contact hours. Fatigue from mining sites also affects their attention span and reduce their class participation levels. The study calls for the demilitarisation and democratisation of informal mining regulatory policies while recommending a community-based approach to regulating informal mining activities so as to ensure that communities benefit from improved incomes to finance education while preventing child labour and student involvement.
{"title":"Unpacking the dual impact of informal gold mining on educational attainment in resource constrained Communities","authors":"Tobias Tseer , Frederick Ngmenkpieo , Agape Kanyiri Damwah","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101601","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101601","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Contemporary studies on informal mining have often referred to the economic positives without much focus on the social benefits of it particularly relating to educational financing for youths in mining areas. This study contributes to this discourse by connecting educational attainment and informal mining among youths in the Nabdam District of Northeastern Ghana. The study relied on insights from individual interviews and focus group discussions with 62 participants who were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling techniques to explore how informal mining affect educational activities in the Nabdam District. The analysis of the collected data revealed that informal mining help miners to finance the educational continuity of their relatives while student miners self-finance their education from mining proceeds. On the negatives, we found that miners who are students share their time between schooling and miming affecting school contact hours. Fatigue from mining sites also affects their attention span and reduce their class participation levels. The study calls for the demilitarisation and democratisation of informal mining regulatory policies while recommending a community-based approach to regulating informal mining activities so as to ensure that communities benefit from improved incomes to finance education while preventing child labour and student involvement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"22 ","pages":"Article 101601"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号