Power, Conflict and Environmental Violence: 21st Century Coal Transition in Colombia

• In Event: 3555 - Section on the Political Economy of the World-System Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 2. Environmental Disaster, Power, and Conflict

Abstract

If climate change is to be addressed, research demonstrates that 80% of coal reserves should remain underground. This research focuses on Colombia, the world’s fifth largest coal exporter, and elucidates socioeconomic and environmental conflicts at various scales, revealing the deeply complex socioeconomic processes involved in a global energy transition. The research probes social power relations, repression, rights and violence. Based on 14 months of field research in Colombia, this paper highlights the ongoing links between environmental violence, imperialism, fossil fuel extraction, energy transition, and unequal ecological exchange.

Author

• Tamra L Gilbertson, University of Tennessee, Knoxville