Pub Date : 2024-10-28DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103798
Kirstine Lund Christiansen, Jens Friis Lund
Corporate climate action is booming with companies across all sectors pledging to contribute towards climate mitigation. Yet, how do companies represent their climate impacts and the possibility for them to act on these? In this study, we explore these questions by analysing the sustainability reports of fourteen of the world's largest food and technology companies. We do this through Carol Bacchi's ‘What's the Problem Represented to be’-approach. As such, we examine how companies' suggested climate solutions constitute and delimit the problems that corporate climate action can and should address. We show that companies' climate solutions emphasise efficiency gains in resource and energy use and substitution of carbon-intensive inputs in production processes, whereas solutions aimed at transforming or reducing consumption and production patterns are largely absent. Rather, companies in the food and technology sectors emphasise why the products and services they provide remain socially necessary in the future. Our study adds to a growing literature illustrating the limits of voluntary corporate climate action.
{"title":"Seeing the limits of voluntary corporate climate action in food and technology sustainability reports","authors":"Kirstine Lund Christiansen, Jens Friis Lund","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103798","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103798","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Corporate climate action is booming with companies across all sectors pledging to contribute towards climate mitigation. Yet, how do companies represent their climate impacts and the possibility for them to act on these? In this study, we explore these questions by analysing the sustainability reports of fourteen of the world's largest food and technology companies. We do this through Carol Bacchi's ‘What's the Problem Represented to be’-approach. As such, we examine how companies' suggested climate solutions constitute and delimit the problems that corporate climate action can and should address. We show that companies' climate solutions emphasise efficiency gains in resource and energy use and substitution of carbon-intensive inputs in production processes, whereas solutions aimed at transforming or reducing consumption and production patterns are largely absent. Rather, companies in the food and technology sectors emphasise why the products and services they provide remain socially necessary in the future. Our study adds to a growing literature illustrating the limits of voluntary corporate climate action.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 103798"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142530688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-26DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103743
Jörg Radtke, Ortwin Renn
Stakeholder and public participation in policymaking for energy transitions is one of the most promising approaches to fulfilling the promises of a democratic sustainability transition. Over the years, many studies have been published about concepts, methodologies, and empirical results of participatory approaches and implementations. In this paper, we focus on the compatibility of participatory processes with different policy styles of democratic governance. We conducted a systematic literature search comparing different concepts of democratic governance and applying them to public participation, in particular that associated with energy transitions. Our main objective in this paper is to link the requirements for a sustainable energy transition to governance processes and structures; we further aim to delineate suitable formats for stakeholder and public participation. Our analysis provides a basis for a wide-ranging and multi-perspective research agenda that promises to provide a deeper understanding and explanation of complex governance arrangements for energy transitions. The five democratic policy styles that we selected for this review are: autocratic, adversarial, collaborative, reflexive, and inclusive governance. We conclude that none are adequate on their own, and so we put forth a novel hybrid we call the “mediative approach.” From this approach, we derive a new research framework for addressing the current challenges of democratic decision-making in energy transitions. Three pressing questions emerge, one relating to the interplay of top-down and bottom-up modes of governance; a second to the conditions for actor collaboration; and a third to the perception of democratic legitimacy by affected parties.
{"title":"Participation in Energy Transitions: A Comparison of Policy Styles","authors":"Jörg Radtke, Ortwin Renn","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103743","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103743","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Stakeholder and public participation in policymaking for energy transitions is one of the most promising approaches to fulfilling the promises of a democratic sustainability transition. Over the years, many studies have been published about concepts, methodologies, and empirical results of participatory approaches and implementations. In this paper, we focus on the compatibility of participatory processes with different policy styles of democratic governance. We conducted a systematic literature search comparing different concepts of democratic governance and applying them to public participation, in particular that associated with energy transitions. Our main objective in this paper is to link the requirements for a sustainable energy transition to governance processes and structures; we further aim to delineate suitable formats for stakeholder and public participation. Our analysis provides a basis for a wide-ranging and multi-perspective research agenda that promises to provide a deeper understanding and explanation of complex governance arrangements for energy transitions. The five democratic policy styles that we selected for this review are: autocratic, adversarial, collaborative, reflexive, and inclusive governance. We conclude that none are adequate on their own, and so we put forth a novel hybrid we call the “mediative approach.” From this approach, we derive a new research framework for addressing the current challenges of democratic decision-making in energy transitions. Three pressing questions emerge, one relating to the interplay of top-down and bottom-up modes of governance; a second to the conditions for actor collaboration; and a third to the perception of democratic legitimacy by affected parties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 103743"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142530630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-25DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103796
Lake Sagaris , Rosario Palacios
Two-track thinking about climate change and related sustainability challenges reflects the tendency for people to express concern but, notwithstanding, continue life as usual, making no changes in lifestyles or political agendas. How to overcome this phenomenon has come to the fore as central to meeting energy, transport and other targets for limiting global warming enough to ensure human societies do not collapse.
Mobilizing the right emotions, in the right socio-cultural contexts, has proven a major challenge, amidst the failure of conventional communications methods. These typically assume an information deficit: the erroneous belief that people will change if they have more facts.
This study involved a practical application of current thinking about cultural trauma, using everyday walking as a vehicle for change. It contributes to current knowledge in three dimensions. It uses walking and walkability to examine the challenge of moving from knowledge to action in a highly urbanized, middle-income country, Chile, which is rapidly transitioning toward “development” but still has a long way to go. It focuses on how to connect theory with real streets, in a troubled but resilient neighborhood, Bellavista, in Metropolitan Santiago. And it innovated using a transdisciplinary, activism-based, action research methodology.
Addressing crime, gender and childhood in walking-related strategies effectively encouraged more sustainable living, improving links with local food and community gardens, shared meals, and walking-cycling among older adults, families and children. Improving social solidarity and connection proved an essential first step to open up pathways with strong potential for improving sustainability.
{"title":"Walking for Joy? Using a living laboratory to shift to more climate-friendly lifestyles in Santiago, Chile","authors":"Lake Sagaris , Rosario Palacios","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103796","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103796","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Two-track thinking about climate change and related sustainability challenges reflects the tendency for people to express concern but, notwithstanding, continue life as usual, making no changes in lifestyles or political agendas. How to overcome this phenomenon has come to the fore as central to meeting energy, transport and other targets for limiting global warming enough to ensure human societies do not collapse.</div><div>Mobilizing the right emotions, in the right socio-cultural contexts, has proven a major challenge, amidst the failure of conventional communications methods. These typically assume an information deficit: the erroneous belief that people will change if they have more facts.</div><div>This study involved a practical application of current thinking about cultural trauma, using everyday walking as a vehicle for change. It contributes to current knowledge in three dimensions. It uses walking and walkability to examine the challenge of moving from knowledge to action in a highly urbanized, middle-income country, Chile, which is rapidly transitioning toward “development” but still has a long way to go. It focuses on how to connect theory with real streets, in a troubled but resilient neighborhood, Bellavista, in Metropolitan Santiago. And it innovated using a transdisciplinary, activism-based, action research methodology.</div><div>Addressing crime, gender and childhood in walking-related strategies effectively encouraged more sustainable living, improving links with local food and community gardens, shared meals, and walking-cycling among older adults, families and children. Improving social solidarity and connection proved an essential first step to open up pathways with strong potential for improving sustainability.</div><div>Sustainable development goals: 3 Health; 7 Energy; 11 Cities; 17 Alliances.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 103796"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142530685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-25DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103810
Reinhilde Bouckaert
Rentier states are under increasing pressure to move towards a post-rentier state model as peak oil demand is approaching. However, it remains unclear if or how a rentier state can make this transition. To answer this, I developed an analytical framework including the mechanisms from the rentier state theory that need to be present to move towards a post-rentier state. This analytical framework is hypothetical, as up to now, no rentier state has been able to transition to a post-rentier state. Using Algeria as a case study, this novel framework is used to analyse the incremental evolution Algeria has made towards a post-rentier state since the year 2000. I argue that Algeria experienced several internal as well as external opportunities and threats and was influenced by its history on how it responded. Although Algeria fulfilled several steps of the framework, it failed to fulfil necessary sustainability aspects to become a post-rentier state.
{"title":"Holding on until the barrel is empty? Algeria's bumpy trajectory towards a post-rentier state","authors":"Reinhilde Bouckaert","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103810","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103810","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rentier states are under increasing pressure to move towards a post-rentier state model as peak oil demand is approaching. However, it remains unclear if or how a rentier state can make this transition. To answer this, I developed an analytical framework including the mechanisms from the rentier state theory that need to be present to move towards a post-rentier state. This analytical framework is hypothetical, as up to now, no rentier state has been able to transition to a post-rentier state. Using Algeria as a case study, this novel framework is used to analyse the incremental evolution Algeria has made towards a post-rentier state since the year 2000. I argue that Algeria experienced several internal as well as external opportunities and threats and was influenced by its history on how it responded. Although Algeria fulfilled several steps of the framework, it failed to fulfil necessary sustainability aspects to become a post-rentier state.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 103810"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142530629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-24DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103795
Paweł Żuk , Piotr Żuk
The article aims to identify the problems and challenges faced by senior citizens in the context of energy transition and also to develop a framework of social policy that would respond to senior citizens' concerns and is necessary for the effective implementation of the goals of the European Union's (EU) climate and energy policy. The authors focus on the analysis of the challenges of energy transition faced by older people who live in Poland in various types of buildings and use different sources of home heating. The article shows how various types of buildings constructed using different technologies and in different historical periods and located in various social and geographical spaces divide people in terms of class and also create challenges for older people related to home heating. The type of building and its place in the urban space may be a determinant of the energy poverty of its inhabitants, and the area where specific types of buildings are clustered together may affect the air quality in this part of a city. The authors suggest taking specific local and national actions as part of social policy towards older people during energy transition. The material was collected in the winter of 2024 using focus group interviews for eight groups of senior citizens differing in place of residence, type of building inhabited and source of home heating.
{"title":"Social and spatial determinants of energy ageism: Calibrating social policy towards older people under the conditions of energy transition in Polish society","authors":"Paweł Żuk , Piotr Żuk","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103795","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103795","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The article aims to identify the problems and challenges faced by senior citizens in the context of energy transition and also to develop a framework of social policy that would respond to senior citizens' concerns and is necessary for the effective implementation of the goals of the European Union's (EU) climate and energy policy. The authors focus on the analysis of the challenges of energy transition faced by older people who live in Poland in various types of buildings and use different sources of home heating. The article shows how various types of buildings constructed using different technologies and in different historical periods and located in various social and geographical spaces divide people in terms of class and also create challenges for older people related to home heating. The type of building and its place in the urban space may be a determinant of the energy poverty of its inhabitants, and the area where specific types of buildings are clustered together may affect the air quality in this part of a city. The authors suggest taking specific local and national actions as part of social policy towards older people during energy transition. The material was collected in the winter of 2024 using focus group interviews for eight groups of senior citizens differing in place of residence, type of building inhabited and source of home heating.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 103795"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142530790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-24DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103809
Nynke van Uffelen
Analysing energy conflicts is crucial to realise a successful and just energy transition. In doing so, it is insufficient to understand energy conflicts as epistemic disagreements about risk analyses and safety, as people often voice moral concerns beyond epistemic debates. To analyse grievances of social movements and citizens in energy conflicts, scholars often adopt a tenet-based energy justice framework that distinguishes between distributive, procedural, recognition and restorative justice. However, categorising claims into tenets does not shed light on disagreements within the tenets. As such, the existing conceptual toolkit is insufficient to understand the core of energy justice conflicts. This article proposes to shift focus towards capturing different conceptions of justice. This approach is illustrated by a qualitative analysis of the controversy around underground gas storage Grijpskerk and Norg in the Netherlands. The results show that the conflict is constituted by competing conceptions of restorative justice. The institutionalisation of one conception delegitimises and hides certain justice concerns and reduces the conflict to an epistemic dispute, which leads to misrecognition and possibly to the escalation of the conflict.
{"title":"Understanding energy conflicts: From epistemic disputes to competing conceptions of justice","authors":"Nynke van Uffelen","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103809","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103809","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Analysing energy conflicts is crucial to realise a successful and just energy transition. In doing so, it is insufficient to understand energy conflicts as epistemic disagreements about risk analyses and safety, as people often voice moral concerns beyond epistemic debates. To analyse grievances of social movements and citizens in energy conflicts, scholars often adopt a tenet-based energy justice framework that distinguishes between distributive, procedural, recognition and restorative justice. However, categorising claims into tenets does not shed light on disagreements within the tenets. As such, the existing conceptual toolkit is insufficient to understand the core of energy justice conflicts. This article proposes to shift focus towards capturing different conceptions of justice. This approach is illustrated by a qualitative analysis of the controversy around underground gas storage Grijpskerk and Norg in the Netherlands. The results show that the conflict is constituted by competing conceptions of restorative justice. The institutionalisation of one conception delegitimises and hides certain justice concerns and reduces the conflict to an epistemic dispute, which leads to misrecognition and possibly to the escalation of the conflict.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 103809"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142530687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-24DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103804
Samuel Eberenz , Irina Dallo , Michèle Marti , Viola Becattini , Matthias Holenstein , Stefan Wiemer , Marco Mazzotti
A successful implementation of Carbon Capture, Transportation, Utilization, and Storage (CCTS/CCUS) projects depends on proactively communicating to and engaging with the public and relevant stakeholders. Based on our research in the framework of a pilot project demonstrating two complementary CCTS/CCUS pathways for Switzerland, we underpin this importance and present and exemplify nine recommendations for communication and stakeholder engagements. In a nutshell, ongoing stakeholder engagement and tailored public communication are crucial to address evolving information needs. We recommend providing clear examples, involve relevant stakeholders early, and adapt strategies dynamically to build capacities for evidence-based decisions regarding CCTS/CCUS pathways. For a differentiated public debate, presenting CCTS/CCUS pathways as complementary to broader climate strategies and renewable energy adoption is key.
{"title":"Nine recommendations for engaging with the public and stakeholders for Carbon Capture, Transportation, Utilization, and Storage","authors":"Samuel Eberenz , Irina Dallo , Michèle Marti , Viola Becattini , Matthias Holenstein , Stefan Wiemer , Marco Mazzotti","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103804","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103804","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A successful implementation of Carbon Capture, Transportation, Utilization, and Storage (CCTS/CCUS) projects depends on proactively communicating to and engaging with the public and relevant stakeholders. Based on our research in the framework of a pilot project demonstrating two complementary CCTS/CCUS pathways for Switzerland, we underpin this importance and present and exemplify nine recommendations for communication and stakeholder engagements. In a nutshell, ongoing stakeholder engagement and tailored public communication are crucial to address evolving information needs. We recommend providing clear examples, involve relevant stakeholders early, and adapt strategies dynamically to build capacities for evidence-based decisions regarding CCTS/CCUS pathways. For a differentiated public debate, presenting CCTS/CCUS pathways as complementary to broader climate strategies and renewable energy adoption is key.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 103804"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142530686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-24DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103801
Mathias Lanezki , Maren Wesselow , Antonieta Alcorta de Bronstein , Ernst Schäfer , Frederic Urbschat , Julia Ingensiep , Jessica Foppe , Jan-Henrik Bruhn
There is a need to further develop digital and hardware tools to support consumers in the adaptation of their energy use to, for example, integrate renewable sources into it and/or reduce expenses. This paper presents an evaluation study of a tool, including its hardware and software versions, that supports consumers in their electricity consumption optimization, most notably concerning renewable energies for specific devices. We conducted a six-week study in Oldenburg, Germany involving 43 participants divided into three groups: one hardware and one digital variant each of an energy visualization tool, as well as a control group. We furthermore collected quantitative data on energy usage patterns and qualitative insights through semi-structured interviews. Here the participants received information about the percentage of renewable energy currently in the grid, and were asked to document their washing machine and dishwasher use. This paper provides insights into the perception of the proposed visualization tools achieved through semi-structured interviews, comparing the digital and hardware versions, while outlining the challenges of and possibilities for changing energy use behavior, especially regarding the time of day of an appliance's use. Even though the measurable influences of the tool were limited due to thresholds being reached too easily as a result of e.g. high wind levels generating higher-than-anticipated amounts of renewable energy, in terms of the amount of renewable energy use, slight improvements in the two test groups were observed compared to the control group. Regarding consumer behavior, changes in the appliances' use time show slightly higher improvement compared to the control group.
{"title":"Green means go: The effect of a visualization tool towards increased use of renewable energy in households","authors":"Mathias Lanezki , Maren Wesselow , Antonieta Alcorta de Bronstein , Ernst Schäfer , Frederic Urbschat , Julia Ingensiep , Jessica Foppe , Jan-Henrik Bruhn","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103801","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103801","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There is a need to further develop digital and hardware tools to support consumers in the adaptation of their energy use to, for example, integrate renewable sources into it and/or reduce expenses. This paper presents an evaluation study of a tool, including its hardware and software versions, that supports consumers in their electricity consumption optimization, most notably concerning renewable energies for specific devices. We conducted a six-week study in Oldenburg, Germany involving 43 participants divided into three groups: one hardware and one digital variant each of an energy visualization tool, as well as a control group. We furthermore collected quantitative data on energy usage patterns and qualitative insights through semi-structured interviews. Here the participants received information about the percentage of renewable energy currently in the grid, and were asked to document their washing machine and dishwasher use. This paper provides insights into the perception of the proposed visualization tools achieved through semi-structured interviews, comparing the digital and hardware versions, while outlining the challenges of and possibilities for changing energy use behavior, especially regarding the time of day of an appliance's use. Even though the measurable influences of the tool were limited due to thresholds being reached too easily as a result of e.g. high wind levels generating higher-than-anticipated amounts of renewable energy, in terms of the amount of renewable energy use, slight improvements in the two test groups were observed compared to the control group. Regarding consumer behavior, changes in the appliances' use time show slightly higher improvement compared to the control group.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 103801"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142530694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-24DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103792
Hernan Felipe Trujillo Quintero , Jhon Jairo Losada Cubillos
This study critically examines the socio-environmental conflict surrounding the Churimo Small Hydropower Station (SHPS) in Antioquia, Colombia, within the context of the region's armed conflict legacy. The Churimo project, while contributing to Colombia's renewable energy goals, has faced intense resistance from local communities due to ecological, cultural, and socio-political concerns. Utilizing an energy justice framework, we conducted in-depth interviews, analyzed public hearing records, and reviewed media coverage to uncover the multidimensional factors fueling opposition. The findings highlight six primary drivers of resistance: ecological impacts on the Churimo River, procedural injustices in stakeholder engagement, informational transparency deficits, adverse effects on local tourism, historical grievances related to hydropower development, and unresolved land restitution issues exacerbated by the region's violent past. The study reveals how these factors, compounded by a history of armed conflict, have intensified opposition and hindered the project's social legitimacy. We argue that achieving a just energy transition in Colombia requires addressing both the immediate and historical injustices faced by affected communities, ensuring that energy projects do not perpetuate existing vulnerabilities.
{"title":"Conflict and resistance: Unveiling the hidden costs of small hydropower in an armed conflict-affected region of Antioquia, Colombia","authors":"Hernan Felipe Trujillo Quintero , Jhon Jairo Losada Cubillos","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103792","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103792","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study critically examines the socio-environmental conflict surrounding the Churimo Small Hydropower Station (SHPS) in Antioquia, Colombia, within the context of the region's armed conflict legacy. The Churimo project, while contributing to Colombia's renewable energy goals, has faced intense resistance from local communities due to ecological, cultural, and socio-political concerns. Utilizing an energy justice framework, we conducted in-depth interviews, analyzed public hearing records, and reviewed media coverage to uncover the multidimensional factors fueling opposition. The findings highlight six primary drivers of resistance: ecological impacts on the Churimo River, procedural injustices in stakeholder engagement, informational transparency deficits, adverse effects on local tourism, historical grievances related to hydropower development, and unresolved land restitution issues exacerbated by the region's violent past. The study reveals how these factors, compounded by a history of armed conflict, have intensified opposition and hindered the project's social legitimacy. We argue that achieving a just energy transition in Colombia requires addressing both the immediate and historical injustices faced by affected communities, ensuring that energy projects do not perpetuate existing vulnerabilities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 103792"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142530631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
With the RePowerEU plan the European Commission aims to boost biomethane production as part of its strategy for energy independence. Biomethane from manure is commonly considered as a circular solution that produces renewable energy, manages waste and reduces emissions. However, the intertwining of biomethane production with the livestock sector, one of the most impactful sectors in the EU and globally, is highly controversial, yet rarely discussed. In this Policy Perspective we argue how the reliance on manure as primary feedstock for biomethane is extending the EU's lock-in into unsustainable, business-as-usual livestock farming practices, replacing a natural gas dependency with an animal feed dependency from other continents, jeopardizing EU's strategic autonomy, while perpetuating neocolonial forms of extractivism. We highlight that such mechanisms are reinforced by blind spots in the Renewable Energy Directive emissions accounting standards which have overlooked the upstream impacts of biomethane production from manure, especially the ones in the Global South, obscuring the link between energy and food systems. These gaps contribute to rebound effects in indirect land use change and on-farm emissions, hindering environmental targets. Recommendations are provided to stimulate a critical discussion in which commonly held assumptions and narratives on biomethane production from manure are challenged.
{"title":"Biomethane from manure in the RePowerEU: A critical perspective on the scale-up of renewable energy production from the livestock sector","authors":"Francesca Magnolo , Jeroen Candel , Stijn Speelman","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103793","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103793","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the RePowerEU plan the European Commission aims to boost biomethane production as part of its strategy for energy independence. Biomethane from manure is commonly considered as a circular solution that produces renewable energy, manages waste and reduces emissions. However, the intertwining of biomethane production with the livestock sector, one of the most impactful sectors in the EU and globally, is highly controversial, yet rarely discussed. In this Policy Perspective we argue how the reliance on manure as primary feedstock for biomethane is extending the EU's lock-in into unsustainable, business-as-usual livestock farming practices, replacing a natural gas dependency with an animal feed dependency from other continents, jeopardizing EU's strategic autonomy, while perpetuating neocolonial forms of extractivism. We highlight that such mechanisms are reinforced by blind spots in the Renewable Energy Directive emissions accounting standards which have overlooked the upstream impacts of biomethane production from manure, especially the ones in the Global South, obscuring the link between energy and food systems. These gaps contribute to rebound effects in indirect land use change and on-farm emissions, hindering environmental targets. Recommendations are provided to stimulate a critical discussion in which commonly held assumptions and narratives on biomethane production from manure are challenged.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 103793"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142530689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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