The coloniality of green extractivism : Unearthing decarbonisation by dispossession through the case of nickel
Andreucci, Diego (Universitat de Barcelona. Departament d'Economia i Història Econòmica)
García López, Gustavo (Universidade de Coimbra. Center for Social Studies)
Radhuber, Isabella (University of Vienna. Department of Political Science)
Conde, Marta (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Voskoboynik, Daniel M. (Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Departament de Ciències Polítiques i Socials)
Farrugia, J. D. (Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Departament de Ciències Polítiques i Socials)
Zografos, Christos (Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Departament de Ciències Polítiques i Socials)

Data:	2023
Resum:	This article elaborates on the notion of "decarbonisation by dispossession" in order to shed light on the contradictory character of capital-driven energy transitions. First, we suggest conceptualising "decarbonisation" as a "socio-ecological fix" to intersecting, climate-induced crises of accumulation and hegemony, aimed at saving capital rather than the planet. Second, reflecting on the mineral intensity of "low carbon" technologies such as industrial-scale solar and wind farms, we approach ongoing transitions as a form of "extractivism": a form of predatory appropriation of land and resources, embedded in global geographies of unequal ecological and value exchange. Third, examining the case of nickel, we argue that, despite elements that complicate a clear North-South binary, capital-driven transitions are ultimately reinforcing the colonial character of energy provision; they are causing an expansion of "transition mineral" frontiers and associated dispossession effects, and creating sacrifice zones of extraction and processing concentrated in formerly colonised countries. Considering also the contradictory outcomes of mineral-intensive transitions in terms of CO2 emissions reduction, our findings point to a structural inability of capital to solve its ecological contradiction. We conclude that radical proposals for a genuinely "just" transition, including those that mobilise a Green New Deal framework, should aim to decouple energy provision (and the reproduction of life more generally) from the material and epistemic violence of colonial-extractive capitalism.
Ajuts:	European Commission 897072 Agencia Estatal de Investigación CNS2022-136115
Nota:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Publicat a:	Political Geography, Vol. 107 (November 2023) , art. 102997, ISSN 0962-6298

DOI: 10.1016/j.polgeo.2023.102997

11 p, 698.1 KB

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