Examining new geographies of coal: Dissenting energyscapes in Colombia and Turkey

Abstract

Global energy geographies are changing, call it by will or by market forces. As coal production declines or consumption is phased out in parts of the Global North, the future of coal will likely be decided in the Global South. In this article, we explore energyscapes, as multiple and nested sites of connectivity over energy, and their relation to energy justice, environmental conflicts and social movements in new geographies of coal. By putting into question the reproduction of multiple levels of socio-environmental injustices related to coal’s extraction and consumption, we trace the emerging South-South coal links with an empirical focus on Colombia and Turkey. Coal extraction and consumption, respectively, in these geographically distant but increasingly connected countries are linked by multiscalar socio-ecological interactions and conflicts. After exploring these interactions, we examine the changing energyscapes of coal operating on different layers (the market, the physical, and the socio-environmental damages) between the two countries. Our analysis reveals that these new geographies are anchored in cross-scalar environmental injustices and democratic deficits, only sustained with top-down measures and emerging bilateral dependencies. The coming challenge for energy justice, therefore, is to link local communities' claims and democratization of energyscapes between the supply and the demand sides.