The Hidden Face of the Green Transition: Energy Colonialism and Environmental Necropolitics in the Global South

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58210/rie3775

Keywords:

Socio-environmental justice, Strategic minerals, Territorial dispossession, E, Environmental racism, Ecological distribution conflicts

Abstract

The expansion of renewable infrastructures and critical mineral mining in Latin America has been framed as a technical solution to the climate crisis. This article critically examines how these processes reproduce core-periphery asymmetries and operate as forms of environmental necropolitics by concentrating ecological risks on racialized territories. An integrative review was conducted through systematic searches in SciELO, Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed, using descriptors in English, Spanish and Portuguese, applying rigorous eligibility criteria and critical content analysis. Findings reveal recurrent patterns of territorial dispossession, consolidation of sacrifice zones and corporate discursive strategies in lithium mining and large-scale wind and solar projects. The study concludes that global decarbonization may reinforce structural dependencies unless accompanied by energy justice, territorial sovereignty and recognition of Southern epistemologies.

Author Biography

Paulo Roberto Ramos, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco

Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences, with concentration in Political Science. Master’s and Ph.D. in Sociology, in the field of Development Sociology, from the Federal University of Paraíba. Postgraduate Specializations in Epidemiology and Health Surveillance, Public and Social Policy Management, and Nutrition and Health from Faculdade do Iguaçu (PR). Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition at the University of Pernambuco. Postdoctoral researcher in Human Ecology and Socio-Environmental Management at the State University of Bahia. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Social Sciences Department and in the Graduate Program in Dynamics of Development in the Brazilian Semi-Arid Region (PPGDiDeS) at the Federal University of the São Francisco Valley (UNIVASF). He has experience in Education, Scientific Research, Environmental Management, Nutrition, Agroecology, and Sustainable Development, with emphasis on Development Sociology, Environmental Sociology, Health Sociology, and Urban Sociology, working mainly on Environmental Education, Agroecology, Environment, Sustainable Development, Interdisciplinarity, Healthy Eating, Socio-environmental Degradation, Water Resources, and Environmental Health. Founder and General Coordinator of the Escola Verde Program (escolaverde.org), approved under PROEXT-MEC. Recipient of the Ministry of Education Award for Innovation and Creativity in Basic Education. Leader of the Interdisciplinary Environmental Education Research Group and Coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Environmental Education Thematic Center (NUTEAI). Ad hoc reviewer for the journal Ambiente & Sociedade. External evaluator for the Undergraduate Research Program (PIBIC) of FACEPE. Researcher affiliated with the Reference Center for the Recovery of Degraded Areas of the Caatinga (CRAD/UNIVASF). President of the Solidarity Selective Waste Collection Committee of UNIVASF (2013–2015) and current member. Member of the Institutional Scientific Initiation Scholarship Committee (PIBIC) (2005–2009; 2014–2019), Area Coordinator of the Institutional Teaching Initiation Scholarship Program (PIBID) (2013–2017), and Supervisor in the Pedagogical Residency Program (2018–2024). Member of the Sustainable Logistics Management Committee and the UNIVASF Sustainable Program Steering Committee. Internship Coordinator and Senior Faculty Member of the Social Sciences Program at UNIVASF. Coordinator of the Sala Verde Environmental Education Space at UNIVASF. Executive Director of Revista Verde. Professor in the Environmental Health Specialization Program (SEaD/UNIVASF) and Coordinator of the Lato Sensu Specialization in Interdisciplinary Environmental Education (SEaD/UNIVASF)

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Published

10-03-2026

How to Cite

Ramos, Paulo Roberto, Maria Miryam da Silva Alves, Rodrigo Almeida Ferreira, Raimundo Ribeiro Galvão Filho, Arlete Colaço de Azevêdo, Italo Alan Barbosa Bispo, Herácliton Neves Araújo, et al. 2026. “The Hidden Face of the Green Transition: Energy Colonialism and Environmental Necropolitics in the Global South”. Revista Inclusiones 13 (2):e3775. https://doi.org/10.58210/rie3775.

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2026): Abril-Junio

Section

Artículos

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Paulo Roberto Ramos, Maria Miryam da Silva Alves, Rodrigo Almeida Ferreira, Raimundo Ribeiro Galvão Filho, Arlete Colaço de Azevêdo, Italo Alan Barbosa Bispo, Herácliton Neves Araújo, Tatiana da Silva Gomes, João Deryson Figueiredo Sampaio, Ismael Vanio Agostinho Santana, Bruno Nunes Nogueira, Pedro Paulo da Cunha

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors retain copyright and grant Revista Inclusiones the right of publication under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). This allows use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided proper attribution is given to the author.

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