Governing the dark side of renewable energy: A typology of global displacements. (April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kramarz, Teresa; Park, Susan; Johnson, Craig
• Is Part Of: Energy research & social science. Volume 74(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-04
• Subjects: Renewable energy -- Global supply chains -- Solar -- Wind -- Lithium batteries -- Displacement -- Transition -- International political economy -- Climate change -- Contamination -- Dispossession -- Dependence; Power resources -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Energy consumption -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 333.7905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101902
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2214-6296

Abstract

Abstract: Renewable energy (RE) is critical for curbing global greenhouse gas emissions to achieve 2 to 4 degrees of global warming by 2100. While this is an imperative technical response to the climate crisis, the shift to renewables is also driving a surge in demand for metals and minerals used in RE. Calls are being made for "smarter" and more "responsible" forms of mining, but questions remain about the socio-economic and environmental impacts of extraction, processing, application, and disposal at multiple scales. The literature has been limited to the technical and cost-benefit dimensions of managing RE global supply chains. This article seeks to expand this focus by developing a typology of displacement that may be used to understand the socio-economic and environmental effects of onshore wind, solar photovoltaics (PV), and lithium-ion batteries. It encourages a critical analysis of how the global surge in demand for renewable energy is affecting development pathways and displacement patterns.