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Energy Colonialism: A Category to Analyse the Corporate Energy Transition in the Global South and North

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  • Josefa Sánchez Contreras

    (Department of Sociology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain)

  • Alberto Matarán Ruiz

    (Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain)

  • Alvaro Campos-Celador

    (Department of Energy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering of Gipuzkoa (Eibar Section), University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, 20600 Eibar, Spain)

  • Eva Maria Fjellheim

    (Centre for Sámi Studies, UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, 9019 Tromsø, Norway)

Abstract

This article aims to define the category of energy colonialism in order to analyse the conflicts that are arising due to the deployment of renewable energy megaprojects in the Global South and in the peripheries of the Global North. First, the limits of the corporate energy transition are questioned, and based on an exhaustive bibliographic review, the category of energy colonialism is formulated along with six dimensions that characterise it: geopolitical; economic and financial inequalities; power, violence, and decision making; land grabbing and dispossession; impacts on territories and commons; resistance and socio-territorial conflicts. Based on this framework, we analyse and juxtapose different expressions of energy colonialism in four case studies; the isthmus of Tehuantepec (Oaxaca, Mexico), the territories of Western Sahara occupied by Morocco, the Saami territory in Norway, and the rural territories of Spain. The results from this study allow us to conclude that energy colonialism is a useful concept for understanding and critiquing the effects of the corporate energy transition and establishing a base for grassroots and decolonial alternatives in both the Global North and South.

Suggested Citation

  • Josefa Sánchez Contreras & Alberto Matarán Ruiz & Alvaro Campos-Celador & Eva Maria Fjellheim, 2023. "Energy Colonialism: A Category to Analyse the Corporate Energy Transition in the Global South and North," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-15, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:6:p:1241-:d:1173078
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    References listed on IDEAS

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