Montag, 07. Oktober 2024, 16:15 - 17:45 iCal

ie.talks: Thea Riofrancos

Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism

Alois-Wagner-Saal
Sensengasse 3/1, 1090 Wien

Antrittsvorlesung, Public Lecture

Presentation by Thea Riofrancos (Providence College) followed by discussion, chaired by Aleksandra Wojewska (Department of Development Studies), discussants: Erika Faigen (Department of Geography and Regional Research), Sebastian Felten (Department of History), Bernhard Tröster (ÖFSE).

ie.talks in cooperation with ÖFSE Development Lectures, Department of Political Science, Department of Geography and Regional Research, and Department of History

 

Will green capitalism save us from the climate crisis? "Clean" technologies and renewable energy are certainly growing sites of capitalist investment, with government policies playing a key role in making these sectors profitable. But the supply chains that produce the technologies pose vexing dilemmas for the energy transition. These dilemmas are most dramatic at the extractive frontiers of green capitalism: where the natural resources needed to manufacture electric vehicles and build windmills are extracted. In this ie.talks, we will unpack these challenges through the lens of lithium, a so-called "critical mineral" essential for its role in decarbonizing one of the most polluting sectors: transportation. With forecasters predicting an enormous surge in lithium demand, exceeding existing supplies, Global North governments and downstream firms scramble to "secure" lithium, resulting in a new state-corporate alliance and the return of vertical integration. Meanwhile, environmental and Indigenous movements contest the rapid expansion of extraction, defending ecosystems, livelihoods, and waterways already under pressure from global warming from a new boom in mining. It is in the play of these forces, unfolding amidst geopolitical rivalry and economic turbulence, that the energy transition will be forged. To conclude, we will explore the possibility of a less mining-intensive pathway to zero carbon transportation.

Zur Webseite der Veranstaltung

Veranstalter

Institut für Internationale Entwicklung

Kontakt

Studienassistenz IE
Department of Development Studies
+43-1-4277-641 19
studienassistenz.ie@univie.ac.at

Erstellt am Montag, 16. September 2024, 16:11
Letzte Änderung am Donnerstag, 19. September 2024, 09:03

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