Energy transition or adaptation of fossil capitalism? “Renewable” megaprojects and territorial conflicts in Brazil

Abstract

The renewable energy transition is considered fundamental to mitigating climate change. Accordingly, this study sought to analyze whether the “green” energy transition represents a structural socioeconomic change or merely constitutes an adaptation of fossil capitalism aimed at sustaining its unsustainable model of production. The research, analytical and explanatory in nature, was based on a critical review of the literature and on institutional documents, with the purpose of problematizing the “green” energy transition. In Brazil, hydropower and wind farms were taken as empirical examples of the contradictions inherent in this process. The results indicate that the renewable energy transition operates predominantly as a strategy for adapting fossil capitalism, with the discourse of sustainability being mobilized to legitimize the expansion of energy projects that continue to produce territorial impacts and conflicts. Therefore, the study contributes to the field of Critical Geography by highlighting the limits of the “green” energy transition under capitalism.