Energy colonialism and the Brazilian Northeast as a sacrifice zone for the energy transition

Abstract

The article presents the results of an exploratory study that aimed to understand the social, economic, and political dimensions involved in the installation of wind and solar energy megaprojects in the Brazilian Northeast. We align ourselves with the decolonial debate and use the concepts of energy colonialism and sacrifice zones, which problematize the use of the energy transition as a justification for the economic exploitation of natural resources in the Global South and peripheries of the Global North. Using secondary data, field visits, and analyzing public hearings, we conclude that business solutions for the decarbonization of the electricity sector maintain the power asymmetries remaining from colonialism, updating them due to the domination of subjectivities, trimmed by a type of environmental discourse that is propagated by media manipulation and reinforced locally by promises of economic gains for the affected communities. They reinforce vulnerabilities and inequalities while destroying ecosystems and ways of life of exploited peoples.