Governments, companies, communities and other hybrid organizations wish to achieve net-zero goals in a systematic manner over the coming decades to fulfil the decarbonization of economies (Papadis and Tsatsaronis, 2020; Li et al., 2022). As a result, many non-renewable-based large, medium and small energy projects are being pushed to achieve the energy targets. Even though many such projects are promoted or celebrated as sustainable and green alternatives, over the years, many studies have reported the failure of renewable-based projects to address questions of social and environmental justice in many parts of the world (Yenneti & Ray, 2016; Simón et al., 2019; Bedi, 2019; Sharma, 2020; Elmallah & Rand, 2022). The focus of the majority of these studies is primarily on large utility-scale projects.
In this session, we wish to analyze the impact of small renewable energy projects in delivering just energy transition, which is emerging as a new site of contestation and accumulation of wealth and power (Sharma, 2020; Fathoni et al., 2021; Hernando-Arrese & Rasch, 2022). Are small energy projects able to deliver a just energy transition and do not add to the vulnerability of the groups, settings and environment in which they are being planned or operated? Are the concerns of the local populace adequately addressed while planning such energy projects? What is the acceptance of these projects at the local level? How green and deep are these environmental efforts in bringing transformative change? Or are they a product of the ""environmentalization"" (Buttel, 1992) of the energy and developmental debate? Does this top-down and market or state-led ""environmentalization"" increase local actors' vulnerability and marginality and affect their effective participation in such transitions? Do community-led energy projects resist or perpetuate issues of justice and democratization of energy transition? Who finances and drives the community-led energy projects? Who makes the decisions and how are they made within these new social organizations? How are inequality, inequity, access and marginality debated among community-driven projects?
These small and medium-scale energy projects are often planned in rural areas of the global south or north. The rural populace, which often is not directly involved in a high-energy intensive and luxury-driven lifestyle (especially in the global south), contributed relatively less (historically and in per-capita terms) to the mega global environmental problems than other social groups. In such a context, the rural populace is paying double the price for a problem they had not directly contributed to. However, the environmental solutions are further going to make them exposed and susceptible to a new economic and social order, often not supportive of existing social order and uses. The papers in this session will explore the functioning and planning of small and medium-scale energy projects in the rural parts of the global north and south from the energy and environmental justice perspective. In the process, the session will reflect on the ways in which convergences and divergences can be found in the (un)just energy transitions taking place in different national and societal settings. The special session will attempt to re-socialize the environmental debates from the rural perspectives.
References:
- Bedi, H. P. (2019). “Lead the district into the light”: Solar energy infrastructure injustices in Kerala, India. Global Transitions, 1,181-189.
- Buttel, F. H. (1992). Environmentalization: Origins, Processes, and Implications for Rural Social Change 1. Rural sociology, 57(1), 1-27.
- Elmallah, S., & Rand, J. (2022). “After the leases are signed, it's a done deal”: Exploring procedural injustices for utility-scale wind energy planning in the United States. Energy Research & Social Science, 89,102549.
- Fathoni, H. S., Setyowati, A. B., & Prest, J. (2021). Is community renewable energy always just? Examining energy injustices and inequalities in rural Indonesia. Energy Research & Social Science, 71,101825.
- Hernando-Arrese, M., & Rasch, E. D. (2022). The micropolitical life of energy projects: A collaborative exploration of injustice and resistance to small hydropower projects in the Wallmapu, Southern Chile. Energy Research & Social Science, 83,102332.
- Li, K., Tan, X., Yan, Y., Jiang, D., & Qi, S. (2022). Directing energy transition toward decarbonization: The China story. Energy, 261,124934.
- Papadis, E., & Tsatsaronis, G. (2020). Challenges in the decarbonization of the energy sector. Energy, 205,118025.
- Sharma, A. (2020). ‘We do not want fake energy’: The social shaping of a solar micro-grid in rural India. Science, Technology and Society, 25(2), 308-324.
- Simón, X., Copena, D., & Montero, M. (2019). Strong wind development with no community participation. The case of Galicia (1995–2009). Energy Policy, 133,110930.
- Yenneti, K., & Day, R. (2016). Distributional justice in solar energy implementation in India: the case of Charanka solar park. Journal of rural studies, 46,35-46.
Maximum number of presenters: 5