It is vital to carefully review the political economy of the energy transition in our current context. In this context, the energy security of the global North trumps the human rights and sovereignty of the people of the South, and the priorities are set by the richest and most powerful countries and transnational countries. company.
Two examples of the North Africa Renewable Energy Program show how energy colonialism can be reproduced in the form of green colonialism or green plunder.
this Series of articles Published in collaboration with Dalia Gebrial and Harpreet Kaur Paul and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung in London.It first appeared in a Global Green New Deal Outlook.
regenerable
The Ouarzazate solar plan was launched in 2016 before the Marrakech climate negotiations-COP22. It is hailed as the largest solar power plant in the world, and the Moroccan monarchy has been declared a champion of renewable energy.
The plant was installed on the land of the Amazigh peasant and herdsman community without their approval and consent. This is for the so-called green agenda-green plunder.
Secondly, this large-scale project is controlled by private interests, and it was built through a huge debt of 9 billion U.S. dollars, including the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.
This debt is guaranteed by the Moroccan government, which means that a country that is already overburdened may face more public debt.
Outrageous
Third, the project is not as environmentally friendly as it claims. It uses centralized thermal power (CSP) and requires a large amount of water to cool and clean the panel.
In semi-arid regions like Ouarzazate, the diversion of water from drinking water and agriculture is outrageous.
Similarly, the Tunur Solar project in Tunisia emphasizes how to extract patented green technologies while locals strive to obtain enough energy to meet their basic needs.
It is a private joint venture between British, Maltese and Tunisian entrepreneurs to develop low-cost dispatchable electricity for Europe.
future
A familiar colonization plan is unfolding before our eyes: cheap natural resources (including solar energy) flow unrestricted from the global south to the affluent north, while European fortresses build walls and fences to prevent humans seeking a dignified life. From reaching the safe coast.
We must always ask relevant questions: who owns what? Who did what? Who gets what? Who wins and who loses? Whose interests are served?
In order to implement fair and truly green new transactions and provide guarantees for the future of mankind and the planet, we must take nature back from the clutches of big capital and reopen debates around justice, people’s sovereignty, and collective interests.
The priority must be the energy autonomy of the local community and radical democracy, which takes precedence over the market logic that treats our land and livelihoods as goods that are sold to the highest bidder.
This author
Hamza Hamouchene is the North Africa Project Coordinator of the Transnational Institute in London, England.
