The Politics of the Low-emission Energy Transition (POLTRANS)

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Research Theme Summary

The push for “green” energy is very strong, but it does not simply replace coal, oil and gas – it often adds new layers of extraction and infrastructure. In Chile and Sweden, this means more demand for so-called critical raw materials and new energy projects. POLTRANS looks at the whole chain behind this: from mines and laws to logistics, finance, public debate and the laboratories where new technologies are designed, to understand who gains, who loses, and what fairer alternatives might look like.

POLTRANS is relevant because Chile and Sweden are deeply intertwined in mineral-intensive “green” transitions: one as a major producer, the other as a technology- and policy-maker. Scientifically, we generate comparative insights on energy, extraction and governance; socially, we inform more just policies that address inequalities, territorial conflicts and environmental harm in both countries

PIs

 

Tatiana M. Bustamante, Universidad de Concepción

Henrik Ernstson, The KTH Royal Institute of Technology

 

Participants

 

Gianfranco Selgas, KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Alexander Paulsson, Lund University

Andrés Pereira, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile

 
 

Carl Fredrik Bergström, Uppsala Unviersity

Vasna Ramasar, Lund University

Purushottam Adhikari, University of Gothenburg

 
 

Erwin Sepúlveda, Universidad de Chile

Kay Bergamini, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile

Katherine Arriagada, Universidad de Concepción

 

Outcomes

The workshop generated six project suggestions, ranging from mapping the “special relationships” of low-emission transition policies and legal frameworks between Chile and Sweden, particularly how the EU uses policy as a political and economic tool to secure access to raw materials, to research on how political ecology concepts such as “commodity frontiers” can be applied in novel iterative design methods for the development of low-emission energy technologies in laboratories and spatial design. The projects also include comparative studies of sites of contestation in Sweden and Chile, such as lithium extraction, the expansion of renewable energy, green hydrogen, and rare earth elements.