Energy Transition in Latin America and the Caribbean: Perspectives from Political Ecology

In the Latin American exchanges and debate spaces convened by the Energy and People's Power Network in Latin America We have identified and analyzed the region's energy scenarios and the forms that the so-called energy transition is taking. In this process of reflection, we highlight primarily the "false solutions to the climate crisis" promoted by the Global North, with the consent of governments in the Global South, to adopt the path of decarbonization as a "response" to climate agreements.

This is a neocolonial logic that, through the expansion of mining and energy projects, keeps our countries in the same situation of dependence, subordination, and domination. These projects and their implementation are presented as an economic solution to the crisis and indebtedness, under the pretext of contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate the climate and energy crises. However, what is happening in many territories where these projects are planned and implemented is an increase in environmental conflicts, a deepening of inequality, and the exploitation and expropriation of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, peasant, and traditional communities.

In this context, we seek to deepen a critical Latin American perspective, from the grassroots level, based on concrete, local experiences that are articulated with both situational and systemic analyses. We invite you to strengthen us collectively through diverse knowledge and multiple geographical perspectives, and to dedicate time to the production of individual and collective thought.

We seek to establish common ground in discussions about the problems and limitations we encounter in the regional context regarding just socio-ecological transformation, and to review the political concepts we are developing for this debate. Our priority is to promote a space for dialogue among eco-territorial, feminist, anti-racist, and decolonial perspectives that will help us strengthen alternatives and build anti-patriarchal and anti-extractivist perspectives in the face of current challenges.

The global ecological crisis, the gradual depletion of fossil fuels, and imperial tensions have placed the energy transition at the center of the political stage. Following the pandemic, a simplistic conception of the transition as merely the incorporation of renewable energy sources was adopted by the Global North and green capitalism as the central space for accumulation and innovation. However, the idea of ​​energy transition must be discussed, because it can be a vehicle for the social control of energy, the public management of technology and energy issues, as well as the implementation of concrete experiences of decolonization and emancipation. Today, energy and political ecology are inextricably linked. A wide range of topics will be presented to fully understand the meanings and possibilities for applying the new energy paradigm, in a sustained dialogue with the world of workers, feminist movements, social movements, and perspectives on socio-ecological transition.

General objective:

• To understand, from the perspective of political ecology, the global dynamics of the energy transition in a hegemonic key and the processes of popular and community energy management, considering the close relationship between geopolitical, socio-environmental and socio-economic conflicts in Latin America.

Specific objectives:

• Promote the joint characterization of the policies necessary for building a just transition from the global south, starting from the multisectoral disputes that develop in relation to energy in Latin America (perspectives from workers, from the popular economy, for the defense of life from an ethic of care, for access to land and habitat, etc.)
• Analyze proposals regarding the democratization of access to energy, with a view to building a popular energy transition.
• To make visible the debates, tools and social technologies built from the organizations and their articulation process at the regional level.
• Rethinking the role of workers in relation to the reconfiguration of energy systems in the region.

• Geopolitics of energy: dynamics of the energy question in the context of global accumulation 
• Historical construction and transformations of the energy matrix in Latin America: the cycles of oil and extreme energies
• Neo-extractivism and climate change: the limits of the notion of energy transition 
• Critical minerals and the mining and energy consensus in Latin America: Lithium and rare earth elements
• Habitat, electromobility and infrastructure in the north-south dynamic of the energy transition
• The role of the State in the transition: public enterprises and energy as an emancipatory project. The Colombian and Uruguayan cases
• Debates surrounding energy sovereignty and socio-ecological transformation: community, feminisms and the world of work
• Energy alternatives, current experiences and meaning-making in Latin America: proposals and perspectives

These are weekly virtual meetings (synchronous format) on Wednesdays at 18 PM (ARG) / 15 PM (MX) / 16 PM (COL). For those unable to attend a meeting, the classes will also be available for asynchronous participation after each session.

Will be awarded 120 full scholarships aimed at activists in social movements, members of community organizations, students, researchers, public officials and the general public who carry out activities related to the topic in question.

Requirements for the application:

• Applications will be submitted through the CLACSO website.
• The candidates must:

1. Complete your details
2. Briefly describe your interest in participating (and the relevance of the issue to your organization, territories, and areas of operation).
3. Please indicate your familiarity with the Portuguese language (if you are a Spanish speaker) and with the Spanish language (if you are applying from Brazil). This information is relevant for organizing work teams and tutoring sessions.

• The available scholarships will be allocated respecting regional diversity and gender equity.
• This call for applications will remain open. up to the 18 / 09 / 2023