Advanced Diploma in Energy Transition, Interculturality and Human Rights

It is undeniable that the planet is affected by climate change, a process that is accelerating at an ever-increasing pace. Natural processes and cycles that used to occur over much longer periods are now happening in just a few decades, with catastrophic consequences for the biosphere. One only needs to look at the trajectory of scientific observations, from the Brundtland Report (1987) to the latest IPCC Report (2022), to understand the gravity of the climate crisis.

These processes have been caused in many ways by human activity, which has resulted in a geosystemic force that many are now calling the "Anthropocene." The exploitation of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas has played a fundamental role in these processes, and therefore, without urgent measures, a planetary cataclysm cannot be averted.

The energy matrix based on the sun and photosynthesis, which for millennia allowed human development in more or less closed economic cycles, transitioned towards extraordinarily more powerful energy sources and constituted a leap in the development of the human species and its technological and political power structures, given that, as is recognized today, whoever controls energy possesses political and economic power.

The severity and scale of climate change are forcing us to undertake what has been defined as an “energy transition,” understood as a shift from fossil fuel-based energy production to one that includes both renewable and non-renewable energy sources. Among these changes is the replacement of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, with renewable sources, such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, and biomass energy.

These public policy designs should be seen as a step on the path to a more complete and profound “ecological transition”, in which the decentralization of energy generation is an unavoidable phase and, with it, also the change in political models towards more democratic structures, in which territories have greater capacities.

The undeniable climate emergency has led some governments to develop “Energy Transition” programs, and several multilateral organizations are taking these programs into account when formulating common strategies to meet the energy needs of increasingly demanding economies due to their growth rates. However, according to ECLAC (2009), access to quality energy services, as a fundamental element in poverty reduction and improving the environmental conditions of the most vulnerable social groups, has received little attention in the official policies of many governments.

The course will be structured in such a way as to contribute to a better understanding of what the “energy transition” consists of, its main characteristics, its benefits and its risks for Latin America and the Caribbean, both from the point of view of energy generation, democratic construction and the exercise of Human Rights, as well as its possible tendency to generate new and more complicated ties of dependence on the world market as an exporting zone of raw materials and of political subordination to the hegemonic powers.

A brief overview will be given of current trends in energy transition worldwide and their possible repercussions for Latin America and the Caribbean, taking into account that several Latin American countries are major oil exporters, or are virtual exporters of energy (contained in semi-finished or finished products from relocated industrial sectors).

Aspects such as the notions of heritage and rights, related to energy, the relevance of local culture and native cultures, the formation of social, labor and popular networks, are aspects of great interest for this course, as they are understood as dimensions that can differentiate the implementation of public policies on energy in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Within this framework, the course analyzes energy beyond its physical concept, and places it within the currents of analysis that understand it as a political, social, economic, and cultural issue.

Finally, the aim is to take into account the results of previous courses taught at CLACSO and those obtained from joint work in several of its Working Groups (Climate Change, Social Metabolism, among others)

Objective

To provide students with a conceptualization of the characteristics of the Energy Transition and how they could impact the realities of Latin America and the Caribbean, their current energy policies and their real possibilities for technological, political and cultural transformation in the current Latin American and Caribbean context.

Specific objectives

• To foster in students an analytical perspective on current energy consumption trends in Latin America and the Caribbean from an environmental, cultural and political point of view.
• To offer students the possibility of incorporating perspectives from local and/or indigenous cultures into a better understanding of where public policies related to energy in Latin American and Caribbean countries should be headed.
• Identify and analyze existing knowledge in countries, the region and the world based on evidence for the structuring of knowledge and programmatic frameworks on the energy transition and understanding from intercultural and human rights perspectives that serve as inputs for public policy making, citizen actions and university cooperation.
• Support the creation of spaces for dialogue with young people, teachers and actors from the academic world, civil society and the private sector to support the implementation of these contents.

The Higher Diploma in Energy Transition, Interculturality and Human Rights is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students; teachers, activists and members of social organizations and movements, public officials, NGOs and professionals interested in the subject.

The program consists of 6 weekly modules, each taught consecutively and linked to the others.

Total workload of 128 hours.

The modules that comprise the Higher Diploma are:

• Jorge Riechmann (Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain)
• emilio santiago (Spanish National Research Council) 
• Emiliano Teran Mantovani (Center for Development Studies - Political Ecology Observatory, Venezuela) 
• Antonio De Lisio (Center for Development Studies of the Central University of Venezuela)
• Tamara Artacker (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna/Austria)
• Pablo Bertinat (National Technological University, Rosario Regional Faculty, Argentina)
• Lorena Navarro Mine (Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico) 
• Tatiana Roa Avendaño (Censat Agua Viva, Cedla – University of Amsterdam, UASB, Ecuador)
• Enrique Leff Zimmerman (National Autonomous University of Mexico) 
• Sabrina Fernandes (University of Guadalajara, Mexico)
• Edward Gudynas (CLAES, Uruguay)
• Antonio Ortega Santos (University of Granada)
• Jacqueline Laguardia (University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago)
• Cristina Rojas placeholder image (Carleton University, Canada) 
• María Beatriz Eguiguren (Technical University of Loja, Ecuador)
• Angel Correa (Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences - Private Technical University of Loja, Ecuador)
• maristella svampa (National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, Center for Documentation and Research on Leftist Culture, Argentina)
• Hiram Hernández Castro (Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, FLACSO-Ecuador)