BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Centre for Climate Justice//NONSGML Events//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://climatejustice.ubc.ca/events/event/ X-WR-CALDESC:Centre for Climate Justice - Events BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20230128T0356Z-1674878208.8944-EO-15762-45@10.19.146.2 STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTAMP:20260719T205327Z CREATED:20230127T183834Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230207T060922Z DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20230215T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20230215T143000 SUMMARY: Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism DESCRIPTION:   Will green capitalism save us from the climate crisis? “Clea n” technologies and renewable energy are certainly growing sites of capital ist investment\, with government policies playing a key role in making thes e sectors profitable. But the supply chains that produce the technologies p ose vexing dilemmas for the energy transition. These dilemmas are most dram atic at […] X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

 

Will green capitalism save us from the climate crisis? "Clean" technolo gies and renewable energy are certainly growing sites of capitalist investm ent\, with government policies playing a key role in making these sectors p rofitable. 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 need ed to manufacture electric vehicles and build windmills are extracted. In t his talk\, 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 Nort h 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 expans ion of extraction\, defending ecosystems\, livelihoods\, and waterways alre ady under pressure from global warming from a new boom in mining. It is in the play of these forces\, unfolding amidst geopolitical rivalry and econom ic turbulence\, that the energy transition will be forged. To conclude\, we will explore the possibility of a less mining-intensive pathway to zero ca rbon transportation.

Refreshments will be provided\, please RSVP here.

About the Speaker

Thea Riofrancos is an Assoc iate Professor of Political Science at Providence College and an Andrew Car negie Fellow (2020-2023). She is the author of Resource Radicals: From Petr o-Nationalism to Post-Extractivism in Ecuador (Duke University Press\, 2020 ) and the coauthor of Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal (Verso Bo oks\, 2019). She is currently writing Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Ca pitalism (W.W. Norton)
Heavy Metal: The Future of Mine rals and Sustainable Societies is a graduate course cross-listed across fou r departments and disciplines: UBC School of Public Policy & Global Affairs \, UBC Department of Earth\, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences\, UBC Keevil In stitute for Mining Engineering\, and UBC Allard Law. The course received an d is funded by the Killam Connections Award issued by the Faculty of Gradua te Studies at UBC.
CATEGORIES:Featured LOCATION:Coach Room - Green College GEO:49.270852;-123.256535 URL;VALUE=URI:https://climatejustice.ubc.ca/events/event/extraction-the-fro ntiers-of-green-capitalism/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cfcj.cms.arts.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2023/01/TR_Feb15.pptx.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Vancouver BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 DTSTART:20221106T090000 TZNAME:PST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR